Honey Viper
by Yolo.0312
Summary: Akihito needed to hurry up and get home to cook his lover dinner. Something that would be way easier to do if he wasn't being followed by his past. One didn't just run away from the Vongola famiglia, though Akihito had done just that and had remained succesful. Up until now, at least. If it hadn't been for Asami, he would have taken off again and they wouldn't have found him.
1. Reunion

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything by tthe story and the OCs!

PS :: This story is also posted on AO3.

Please enjoy!

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Akihito whistled a tune that had no real rhythm, walking through familiar streets while looking up at the clear, cloudless sky. When one looked at him, the last thing they would expect was that the blonde was being followed. Nothing about the blonde's calm, disinterested pace gave away that he was aware of the five men stalking him. No, wait, it were six. One of them had more skill in hiding his presence.

Oh well, one more or less wouldn't make a difference.

He needed to get home and have dinner done before Asami returned from work. Otherwise, Asami would be dining on his ass. Not that Akihito minded, since the crime-lord had a wicked way with his tongue. If Asami wanted to eat him out, Akihito wasn't going to say no. Besides, they'd always order Chinese after a dinner missed, so Akihito wasn't going to complain about that either. However, he was getting a bit tired of eating Chinese at least three times a week. Up to five times, if Asami was having a hard week with his underground business.

If the crime-lord really thought Akihito couldn't tell the difference between an Asami who was getting his way and an Asami who wasn't getting his way, he was severely underestimating the blonde. Asami should learn to give credit where it was due and to be a little smarter about how and when he called Akihito 'cub'. Akihito had figured out a long time ago that Asami called him 'cub' whenever he was around someone who wasn't allowed to hear his real name. That, or when he was worked up because of a deal not going according to his calculations.

Akihito could easily find out what it was that irritated Asami whenever he was called 'cub', but he couldn't really be bothered with it. If Asami wanted to keep secrets, that was completely fine with Akihito. After all, the blonde himself had a closet full of skeletons. Well, closet might be an understatement. He'd describe it more along the lines of a Victorian castle full of skeletons?

The bullet embedding itself in the wall next to his head drew Akihito from his thoughts, making him look at the hole in the brick. Thank fuck he had lead them away from Tokyo and off the main road. He didn't want to know what would have happened if they'd shot at him in populated streets. Well, at least they were smart enough to use silencers, even if their aim did leave a lot to be desired. Or it was on purpose. Probably on purpose.

Hopefully.

"I see you still have no manners" Akihito said, glad that he had ditched his guard a while ago. Otherwise, this would have gone a whole lot different. There was a side to him he didn't want Asami to know and he was sure the guard put on him would report back to the crime-lord. Like Asami didn't want Akihito to know about his lucrative side-business, Akihito didn't want Asami to know about his other personality-traits, if you could even call it that.

"Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you, trash? You don't deserve manners" a rough voice spoke up lazily behind the blonde and Akihito couldn't stop his lips from curling up at the familiarity of the voice. Shifting his weight on his other foot, Akihito turned his body sideways, twisting his head to look at the one who had spoken up.

"It's been a while, Xanxus" the blonde said and the olive-skinned raven scoffed as he tilted his chin upwards, as if to glare down on the blonde. And what an impressive glare it was.

"Don't give me that shit after everything we had to go through to find you, _Honey viper_ " the raven said and Akihito couldn't stop the laugh from leaving him, not even stressing out one bit as he was surrounded.

"It sure has been a while since I've heard that name" Akihito admitted, understanding the Italian flawlessly. After all, he didn't spend his childhood in Italy without picking up on the language. It hadn't even been all that hard. There were some languages that had been harder to learn.

"So, what does the Varia want with me? Am I suddenly on the Vongola hit-list? If so, I want to know if they gave me a higher bounty" Akihito said as he eyed the group surrounding him, also known as the Varia, the elite assassination squad, belonging to but independent from the biggest, most important Italian mafia family. Akihito knew all of them, but two of them he knew best of all.

One of them was the leader, who he had named before. Xanxus was the leader of Varia and Akihito's childhood friend. They had grown up in the shadows of the famiglia together and it had left its scars. Quite literally. Akihito had run away and gone into hiding while Xanxus carried his scars all across his body as physical proof of the rebellion he had acted out against the famiglia. The second one Akihito knew best of the Varia guardians, was the boss's right-hand who was missing a left hand, having been replaced by a sword.

Superbia Squalo, also known as the current sword emperor, had been at Xanus's side longest, thus automatically had to hang out with Akihito, who was honestly surprised by how quiet the long haired albino was being. Normally, he'd be screaming the neighbourhood out of their beds, which was what made Akihito so weary when he was quiet. Maybe Xanxus had fucked away the Albino's voice? That would explain a lot, though Akihito doubted it. As if those two idiots would ever make a move to try and dispel the messed-up sexual tension between them.

Akihito had honestly thought the Nr. 1 Xanxus fangirl would have caused Squalo to be jealous enough to make his move, but he was probably too prideful for that. However, it was still obvious that Levi's fangirling got on Squalo's nerves, though that was unsurprising. Leviathan was someone who would even get on Akihito's nerves with his worshipping. Akihito already wanted to fry off that ugly-ass moustache and he had only seen it for a few seconds.

Another one who made Akihito weary, was Lussuria, but for different reasons. Back when Akihito had still been in the closet and repressing his sexuality, the duo-coloured Mohawk-haired guardian had been extremely open about his gayness. Even a blind man would be able to tell that Lussuria was as gay as could be. Akihito used to turn away from the red-green haired mafioso on sight. However, now, they might be able to share some stories.

The fifth member of the Varia was Belphegor, also known as Prince the ripper. He was probably the one with the craziest background in the Varia, who joined out of boredom after killing his family. Akihito hadn't believed anything of it, until he had dug around a bit and found out that the blonde had never even lied about being royalty. Though he could really use a haircut, one which Akihito would have no problem giving since he was extremely curious as to what was underneath those long-ass bangs.

The sixth guardian was the newest one, though it didn't make any difference to Akihito who had already done his research. Fran was a genius illusionist who acted as a replacement for the actual sixth member, closing the circle of the weather based guardians. Well, almost complete circle. Xanxus was the sky, Squalo the rain, Levi was lightning, Lussuria was sun, Belphegor was storm and Fran was mist. They still missed their cloud guardian, though they would never have one, since Akihito had rejected the position. However, rejecting the position of guardian, didn't mean that Akihito rejected his flame.

The dying will flame was regarded as the symbol of the mafia world. They were created from a person's own life-force, their wave energy turned into a high-densified energy. The size, nature and balance of this wave was determined at birth. The flames were drawn out by their resolve, reacting to their emotions. The knowledge of the dying will flames was passed down from famiglia to famiglia, yet only not everyone had the actual resolve to unlock and use them, to draw their own life-force and soul to the surface to use as a weapon. The famiglias who were able to use it, were therefor counted as the most dangerous ones that even the police could do nothing against.

Of course there were other mafia groups like yakuza's and the likes, but though they were organized crime-groups, they were different since they were unable to use flames. Which was why the underworld was divided into two types of crime-organizations. One being the flame-users and the other being the non-users. The names were pretty self-explanatory, though it was a lot more complicated than it seemed since every flame had its own destructive properties.

Akihito belonged to the flame-user type, his nature being the cloud flame. He had been able to use his flames for as long as he could remember, having had no trouble at all calling them up and playing with them. Mastering his flames hadn't been an effort either. His talent with his flame control had caused him to be qualified as the Varia's cloud guardian, which he had obviously rejected form the second it had been brought up. The Varia were assassins and Akihito didn't like killing. However, his blatant rejection only seemed to please a lot of people, telling him that it was exactly what was needed to be the cloud guardian.

After that, pressure continued to stack up on his shoulders, driving Akihito to run away from the famiglia. He had gone into hiding and had done an extremely good job up until now, when the Varia found him. However, Akihito had no intention of going back.

"You're not on the hit-list, trash. We're taking you back to Italy" Xanxus said, answering Akihito's question without releasing too much information. Akihito sighed as he took one hand out of his pocket to wave the raven off.

"I already said that I'm not going to become your cloud, Xanxus" Akihito said and the Varia boss clicked with his tongue.

"That's not the problem. It's about that baby trash" he said and Akihito frowned as he turned to the raven.

"Tsuna?" he guessed and earned a nod. Akihito hadn't been keeping an eye on what was going on at the famiglia after he had heard about the inheritance ceremony. Apparently, he really should have. What a rookie mistake he had made.

"What happened?" he asked, his earlier relaxed mood gone. It never was good if the Varia was send out to retrieve someone, even if everyone considered Akihito to be one of the Varia's guardians.

"He got kidnapped" Xanxus informed and Akihito narrowed his eyes at the man.

"By who and when?" he asked, though it didn't sound like a question. If he had been anyone else, Xanxus would have had his balls and would have fed them to a shark while he was forced to watch.

"24 hours ago. Nobody was able to contact him and he didn't show up at the place he had agreed to meet with his guardians. We don't know who did it. That's where you come in" Xanxus said and Akihito crossed his arm in front of his chest, looking at the ground in front of his feet as he held his chin between thumb and pointed. 24 hours. That was pretty late to report someone of Tsuna's standing as missing, especially when his guardians were waiting for him.

"Who was the last to see him?" he asked and glanced up at the raven without turning his head.

"His mist guardian" Xanxus said and Akihito's face fell into a deadpan expression.

"Oi, you are aware of how suspicious that sounds, right? You can't tell me you didn't suspect Rukodu Mukuro from the second you heard it" Akihito said and Xanxus's expression remained unchanged.

"The baby trash's guardians thought the same, so they went straight to that guy to interrogate him. Apparently, baby trash left Kokuyo in the early morning" he said and Akihito gave a troubled hum.

"Circumstances?" he asked and Xanxus grimaced.

"Hell if I know. That's your territory, isn't it" he sneered and Akihito sighed as he looked up at the sky. What do to? Well, it wasn't even a hard choice. Tsunayoshi, before being Vongola Decimo, was his cousin. Akihito had already caused his uncle enough trouble by running away after the announcement the CEDEF boss had made. Besides, Tsuna didn't need to be avoided because of his father. There was no way Akihito could leave a kidnapping alone. He never had before. Because Tsunayoshi was the next Vongola boss, kidnapping or threats weren't anything new, but usually there was at least a clue that people knew before Akihito did and that they could give him.

But Xanxus was right. Information and espionage was Akihito's forte, which was how he had earned his name. If there was anyone needed to quickly and efficiently gather information, it was Akihito they turned to. However, with him having gone in hiding, they hadn't been able to reach him, until now. With the second most important person of the Vongola famiglia missing, it was no wonder that they had found him. Like a starved shark catching a whiff of blood.

"I got it. I'll go" Akihito said, taking back what he had thought earlier about having no intention of returning to Italy. If his cousin was in trouble, it couldn't be helped.

"I'm assuming you came with the heli" the blonde said and Xanxus gave a hum. Akihito turned to Fran at the answer, regarding him while cutting back the curious question about his headdress. Everyone in the Varia had more than a few screws loose, so the frog hat really shouldn't be that surprising.

"You were the one who tracked me down, right? Think you'll be able to do that again?" Akihito asked and the green-haired guardian gave a nod.

"Should be possible" he answered lazily and Akihito gave a nod.

"Then please do. I need to grab my bags" he said and grimaced inwardly. He would need to leave a note for Asami as well, but which excuse would be better? The over-seas photoshoot or visiting a family member? He could also use the excuse of a stake-out, which was something he tended to go MIA for. It wasn't unusual for him to go off the grid for a while during a stake-out, so it wouldn't make Asami question it. But it might take longer than a few days, depending on how quick Akihito was able to assemble the needed information to track his cousin down. If he took too long, Asami would suspect that he had been kidnapped and Asami putting Tokyo upside down was not something Akihito needed to be added to his list of worries.

"By the way, who fired that shot?" Akihito asked as he glanced at the hole in the wall behind him.

"Squalo did" Xanxus said and Akihito grimaced.

"Yeah sure, give the swordsman a gun, why not. I guess I'm lucky he has such a shitty aim" the blonde said, instantly getting a reaction from the long haired albino.

"VOOOOIII! What the hell did ya say, scum?!" Squalo exclaimed and Akihito barked a laugh.

"Finally, he speaks up. I was afraid Xanxus had fried your tongue off" the blonde said as he looked at the rain guardian who clicked with his tongue rather loudly, lowering his sword hand again.

"And here I was just being friendly during the boss's reunion with his only friend" he said and Akihito snorted as Xanxus glared at his right-hand-man.

"What did you say, trash?" the boss asked coldly and Akihito took his chance to get away as the duo got into a bickering match with Fran antagonizing them and Levi and Lussuria trying to hold them back from going at each other's throats while Belphegor was clearly having fun watching the spectacle. Crazy fuckers were always like this. Usually, Akihito would be joining Belphegor, but he wasn't able to. Forget about making dinner, if he wasn't gone before Asami came home, Akihito wouldn't be able to leave before the raven left for work the next day.

Luckily for Akihito, the penthouse was empty when he entered it, allowing him to pack his bag without alerting anyone. He dug his hand into his pocket, fishing out the ring he always carried on him since it had been send to him. With a detached move, he slipped the ring on his right middle finger, the plum gem-stone catching the TL light of the guestroom that had been transformed into his make-shift office. He reached into the secret shelf underneath his desk, retrieving a large box. One side contained a tailored suit while the other contained a locked suitcase that only opened with his fingerprint.

Akihito changed into the light grey suit, keeping the grey tie unknotted under the collar of his black button up. He brushed his hair back as he hoisted his bag onto his shoulder, leaving a note on the fridge before taking the secret passage to the rooftop of the building to wait at the helipad for the helicopter to arrive, his locked suitcase in hand and his bag over his shoulder. He didn't have to wait long before the helicopter found him, though he was unable to stop the grimace from pulling at his lips at the sight of it. Instead of the landing Akihito thought it would make, it remained hovering closely to the edge of the rooftop as the door slid open.

"VOOOOIII! JUMP IN!" Squalo yelled and Akihito clicked with his tongue. He really should have expected something like that. Shaking his head, he flung his bag into the cabin of the helicopter as he took a run-up. Squalo was barely on time to step back before Akihito mowed him over, swaying the helicopter with his landing as his feet skidded over the floor of the cabin. He accepted the headphones as Squalo closed the door again, the helicopter taking off before they were even seated.

"What the hell happened to this thing?" Akihito asked as he flicked down the microphone to his mouth, clicking himself in place in the chair against the side of the helicopter wall.

"Fran flew it the last miles" Belphegor informed and Akihito grimaced as he looked at Lussuria behind in the cockpit. Hopefully, the sun guardian was a better pilot than Fran.

"Is this thing even going to make it to Italy without falling apart or blowing up?" Akihito asked, which was a rather legit concern, considering the beaten up state the helicopter was in.

"It's okay, it's okay. There is nothing to worry about" Lussuria assured him happily while Levi next to him huffed.

"I will not allow a helicopter with Xanxus-sama on board to crash" he said and Akihito gave a troubled smile, not sure on how to react to that. Instead, he ignored it in favour of opening his suitcase. His expression changed to something neutral as he took out the magnum to load it with the 9mm bullets that were boxed in the suitcase. When the magnum was full, he picked up the CZ 57 and slid the magnum inside of it, pointing it at the floor to check the aim. After approving it and making sure the safety was on, he clicked the gun in the holster behind his waistband on his lower back before the black short bo staff was stuffed in the holster attached to his fore-arm. After making sure his weapons were concealed by his clothing, Akihito turned his eyes to Xanxus.

"I'm suspecting the guardians were called to Vongola HQ" he said and Xanxus gave a confirming grunt.

"The old man called them there to hear the story straight from their mouth without any chance of being over-heard" he said and Akihito hummed.

"Of course. It'd be bad if anyone heard about the details before they have more information about the situation. I'm expecting them to be hostile without their sky" he said and Squalo scoffed.

"Hostile might be an understatement for that storm brat. He's a second Levi, but smarter" he said and Akihito groaned.

"Right. Smokin' bomb Hayato, huh. He might actually blow me up if he thinks I'm too suspicious" he said as he looked up at the ceiling. Would that kid even be on time to blow him up? Akihito doubted it, after all, it didn't take long before his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled a difficult face at the caller ID as he let it ring, waiting for it to go through to voice-mail. He'd probably get it for ignoring Asami's call when he came back, but hopefully, the crime-lord would let him off easily if he returned soon enough. Oh well, a little hope had never killed anyone. Or at least not in a way they regretted.

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Thank you for reading!


	2. Meetings

Disclaimer ;; Once again, I don't own anything but the story and the OCs!

Please enjoy!

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Akihito looked around the hallways that were familiar and unchanged over the past years. He had a feeling these hallways would never change. Even if they were tacky, it brought him comfort as well as unease. The blonde shook the feeling off, focussing his attention on the door at the end of the hallway, the main meeting-room where everyone was gathered. Xanxus and the rest of the Varia had already cut off from him and gone to the Varia wing within the Vongola HQ while Akihito continued on alone.

He had made it to Italy, but not without complications. Complications that had him change suits after being drenched by water when the helicopter had given in and crashed mid-way. They had made good time, reaching Italy sooner than Akihito had expected. But then again, the blonde had totally expected them to have to reach HQ on foot. Luckily, they hadn't. Akihito could already feel the pressure and the impatience of the young guardians oozing from the meeting-room like an ominous cloud. If he had been any later, Akihito doubted they would have stayed put.

Fearlessly, Akihito opened the door without knocking. With any other person, this would not be tolerated within the Vongola HQ. However, Akihito was known to disregard rules and they were used to it from him. In fact, if he had knocked, it would have been uncomfortable for Nono, who was already worried enough. He didn't need to worry about Akihito's mental health on top of it. Poor old man had enough to do to try and contain the bratty guardians and looked relieved at the sight of the blonde's face. The guardians, less so.

" _I'm back, Nono_ " Akihito said with an easy grin that was answered with a relieved, kind smile that was misplaced on the boss of the Vongola, yet at the same time, it wasn't.

" _Glad to see you well, Akihito_ " the don said and the grey-haired guardian jumped up from his seat, slamming his hand onto the table as he glared at Akihito. It was already an impressive feat that the Vongola boss had gotten them to sit down. All of them, including the violent cloud guardian and the mafia-detesting mist guardian.

" _Who the fuck are you! How dare you enter this room like that?!"_ the silverette sneered as all eyes were directed at Akihito, narrowed and sharp with the intent to threat. While it certainly was intimidating, with Asami and the secret room in the back of his mind, Akihito wasn't fazed. But do colour him impressed. It wasn't often you found young mafioso who were this intimidating at their age.

"Don't you think that's a rude way to talk to the person who will help you find Tsuna?" Akihito asked, switching back to Japanese as he walked further into the room. The silverette's hackles rose at his question while the raven next to him looked thoughtful.

"Are you Akihito? Tsuna's cousin?" he asked, earning the silverette's shocked attention. Well, everyone's attention, even when the two oldest tried to hide it.

"Bingo! This one gets it. So, if you can all calm yourself down, we can get started. The sooner we start, the sooner we find Tsuna" Akihito said as he sat down in the chair at the tail of the table, opposite of Timoteo.

"I apologize for my rudeness towards you, Juudaime's cousin. I am" the silverette started and Akihito gave him an amused look.

"I know who you are, Gokudera 'smokin' bomb' Hayato. I know who everyone at this table is" Akihito said and to prove it, laid his eyes on the raven next to the silverette.

"Yamamoto Takeshi, rain guardian and master of Shigure soen ryu. Father owns a sushi restaurant, divorced from mother who has a new family with two kids, one from her husband's previous marriage, the other from their new marriage, thus your half-brother. You're a born hitman, but a bit slow when it comes to school-work. Your dream is to become a pro-baseball player and you're well on your way to becoming so" Akihito said, earning an impressed and amused look from the rain guardian before he moved on to the white haired male across from the rain.

"Sasagawa Ryohei, sun guardian and national junior boxing champion. You like to live to the extreme and only fight one-on-one. You have a younger sister, Kyouko, who is your biggest weakness. Because she doesn't know about any of this, you always call it sumo-matches. You're not stupid, but you lack the calmness needed to make rational decisions, though I can't hate this trait of yours because it allows you to protect those around you without giving it a second thought, no matter the consequences" Akihito said and the crop-haired male perked up under the praise before the blonde moved on to the raven next to the boxer, though there was an empty seat in between.

"Hibari Kyouya, cloud guardian and leader of the disciplinary committee, renamed 'the foundation'. You live alone because you hate crowding, even when it's your parents and your seven siblings. You second-in-command it Kusakabe Tetsuya, a delinquent you beat up in pre-school and he has been loyal to you since then. You hate illusionists to the point you created a resistance against illusions, all because you lost to one. Don't make that face, I'm aware that you're the strongest guardian when it comes to physical strength and battle experience" Akihito said, not even intimidated by the down-right murderous look he received from the cloud-guardian for bringing up his loss.

"Rokudo Mukuro, mist guardian and leader of the Kokuyo gang. I'm sure I don't need to bring up your past but I assure you that I know all about it and I don't really blame you for doing what you did. I don't think anyone would. What you did, earned you loyal friends like Kakimoto Chikusa, Joushima Ken, M.M, Chrome Dokuro. You also have a disciple, Fran, who's currently replacing Mammon in the Varia and who really needs to learn how to fly a helicopter. Unsurprisingly, you hate the mafia, but you trust Tsuna to a certain level because the protection of being his guardian also keeps your friends protected" Akihito said and smirked as he leaned back, ignoring the sharp but morbidly amused look of the illusionist.

"Your Lightning guardian is in your opinion too young to join you in this search, instead leaving him in Japan to look after Nana. It was Gokudera who made the decision, despite saying that he doesn't get along with brats. At least he's starting to act like the right-hand man he aspires to be" he said as he crossed his legs, entwining his fingers in front of him with his elbows leaning on the armrests of his chair.

"I'm Takaba Akihito, also known as Falconeria Akihito, and my speciality is information gathering and espionage" the blonde said and looked around the table.

"Any questions, or can we start? If so, please seat yourself and calm down. Getting worked up will only work against you. There is no need to be hostile to me since I returned to help you in the search for Tsuna" Akihito said and slowly but surely, Gokudera sat down again. The tension dissipated at the blonde's words as the guardians relaxed a bit, if only a little bit.

"Well then, let's start with your story of the events, Mukuro. I heard that Tsuna came to Kokuyo and disappeared after leaving in the early morning" Akihito said and Mukuro crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"If you know that, you already know the story" he said and Akihito waved it off.

"No, no, I'm going to need a bit more details than that. Xanxus never cares for the whole story, so he gave me practically nothing to work with" the blonde said and Mukuro sighed.

"Tsunayoshi came by Kokuyo to visit Chrome to see if she was eating well or not. He brought enough food for all of us, though most went to Ken. Tsunayoshi was restless so Chrome convinced him to remain at Kokuyo a little longer to avert his attention of what was troubling him. That was when M.M brought out the alcohol. Bombay, Malibu, Jack Daniels, Sake, Smirnoff, beer" Mukuro said, earning dry looks from his fellow guardians while Akihito snorted. There were a few lies in that, but it sounded more like he was protecting something of Tsuna, instead of himself.

"Sounds like you had everything for a good party. So, everyone got drunk, I expect with that amount of alcohol" the blonde said and received a nod.

"Yes, we all were intoxicated. Tsunayoshi is a heavy-weight, surprisingly. It took quite a bit for him to even get tipsy, but by the end of the night, he was too drunk to return home so I allowed him to crash at Kokuyo. The bed was empty when I woke up" Mukuro said and Akihito regarded him, a lightbulb going off in his head.

"Oh" he said and was unable to stop himself from snorting, earning a curious look from the guardians at the table.

"Is something the matter?" Nono asked and Akihito shook his head. He could already guess what the mist guardian was keeping secret.

"Nope, not at all" the blonde waved it off, amusement clear in his voice as he turned back to the mist guardian.

"So, did the alcohol make him loose? His tongue, I mean" he asked and Mukuro regarded him. Obviously, Akihito would recognize the little sign. Honestly, it was a surprise no-one else had. Tsuna who was out of it, alcohol, drunk people, gone before the sun came up. Everything pointed at a walk of shame, especially when the illusionist had said that the bed was empty instead of merely saying that Tsuna was gone before he woke up.

"Not really" Mukuro said, not averting his eyes though Akihito could tell he wanted to.

"Tsunayoshi is the kind of person to keep everything troubling him to himself in order not to worry the people around him and we didn't want to push the subject that had him down in the first place. He did say a couple of things towards the end of the night, but because I was intoxicated myself, the credibility of it might be doubtful" the illusionist said and Akihito gave a nod, urging him to continue.

"He brought up that for a while, he had the feeling he was being watched" Mukuro said and the blonde's amusement made place for interest.

"Did he say who or maybe someone he suspected?" he asked and Mukuro shook his head.

"He said that it reminded him of the stalker girl" he said and Gokudera finally spoke up.

"But Haru hasn't been stalking Juudaime anymore, since she's closer to him now" he said and Akihito hummed as he leaned back in his chair.

"Stalkers aren't a dime in the dozen, you know. It's possible that he attracted a new stalker. Because of who Tsuna is, he attracts a lot of attention and not all attention is of the good type, let alone sane" Akihito said, remembering Sudou in Asami's case.

"We can't rule out the stalker route, but I wouldn't put all my money on it either. It might not be all there is to it but for now, it's all we have, so let's roll with it" he said and looked up at the ceiling as he tipped his chair back to lean on its hind legs.

"Nono, can you get me a list of the jobs you and Reborn gave Tsuna? His kill-list too, if he has it. We'll exhaust those routes first before moving onto something else. We'll have to look into who Tsuna had contact with in the past, let's say, three years. If we can't find anything in that time period, we'll go back a little more until we find someone with a profile or motive" Akihito said and closed his eyes.

"Because Tsuna's position, it would be impossible for a single person to take him, so we're looking for a group. A single person would never be able to best Tsuna if they were coming at him with a bad intention. Tsuna's intuition wouldn't have allowed him to ignore a threat, even if he had a hangover" he said and opened his eyes again.

"But if they're non-users, Tsuna might doubt and not resist in the same way he would with flame-users" he said, knowing that that was what had happened with his first meeting with Asami.

"Still, users or non-users, Tsuna isn't one to be overpowered when they're not bullies looking for a punching bag. If we go back to the morning he disappeared and try to find some CCTV footage of the neighbourhood to pin down the exact location he disappeared, we might be able to get some footage of the group who took him. If it's before he left Kokuyo, it would be impossible to see since there's no security cameras in that area. We'll be able to find out at least something about the kidnappers from the results we find of this" Akihito said and moved his head forward again, opening his eyes half-lidded at the table.

"If they're in the footage, the kidnapping might have been done by amateur non-users. If there is no footage of them, they might be either experienced, prepared or both. But then there is an 70% percent chance that they are flame-users, aware of who Tsuna is and how far we would go to get him back" Akihito said and blinked, leaving his thoughts as he shrugged.

"Of course, this is all speculation until we know for sure" he said and Gokudera gave him a sharp look.

"But it's a start" he said and Yamamoto smiled.

"At least now we have a direction go" he said and Ryohei pumped his fist in the air.

"Like this, we'll find Sawada extremely fast!" he exclaimed and Nono smiled.

"I will get you the files you need, Akihito. I will be counting on you to lead these young ones in Reborn's absence" the don said and Akihito blinked, letting the words sink down.

"Eh?" he said stupidly as the older man stood up from his chair, smiling at the guardians.

"You will learn a lot from Varia's cloud guardian, so be sure to pay attention to how he works. He is the next head of CEDEF, so your time will not be wasted" Nono said, causing the guardians to stare at Akihito who watched the don walk to the door, gaping at the older man like a fish on the water.

"Oi, old man! I heard nothing about taking brats under my wing!" Akihito finally burst, smacking his hand onto the table a few times while Nono only laughed good-heartedly.

"And I'm not the cloud guardian!" he tacked after it before the door fell closed and a silence fell over the room, disturbed only by Akihito's fluent Italian curses, followed by a deep sigh.

"Each and every one of them, doing as they like" Akihito complained as he pushed his fingertips against his forehead.

"You say you're not Varia's cloud guardian, but you're wearing the Varia ring" Gokudera pointed out and Akihito looked at him.

"I only wear the ring because it's the only one that's able to withstand my flames. I was offered the position of guardian, but I refused because I don't agree with their way of doing things" he said and Ryohei tilted his head.

"Are you the rebellious kid master talked about? The one who ran away when he was appointed next boss of CEDEF more than eight years ago" he asked and the corner of Akihito's lips curled up in a half-smirk.

"That's me" he admitted and stood up.

"But now, we have other things to do than to sit here and talk about the past. I'm sure the Don prepared us a plane to return to Namimori, which is your home-base, where you have most influence and connections. Reborn will stay here apparently, so I guess I don't have a choice but to take charge. Damnit, freaking assholes. I'm back for five minutes and they're already pushing responsibilities on me" Akihito complained as he stood up. No doubt, Iemitsu, Reborn and Nono were taking advantage of the situation, using it to pin him down and force him to accept his position. Freaking assholes.

"Count me out. This has nothing to do with me" Mukuro said with a smile as he stood up. His words earned a glare while Akihito raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is that so?" he asked and leaned closer to the illusionist's ear.

"Then, if they figure out you fucked Tsuna the night before he disappeared and might have caused his body to be harmed and unable to fight back the way he should have been able to, can you still say you're uninvolved?" the blonde whispered low enough only the purple-haired guardian heard him. Akihito shrugged as he moved back again, noticing the grimace on the mist guardian's face.

"But if you still insist that you're not going to help, then there is nothing I can do to stop you" he said and Mukuro schooled his expression but said nothing. Akihito took notice of Hibari turning away to the door, intent on leaving without saying anything.

"Is something wrong, Hibari?" he asked and his fellow cloud flame user turned to look over his shoulder.

"I am returning to Namimori on my own" he said and Akihito hummed.

"So you too are saying this has nothing to do with you? Does that mean you're willing to be shown up by Mukuro for a second time?" he asked, receiving the wanted response as Hibari turned around to glare at him, holding up his tonfas.

"You want to be bitten to death?" he threatened and Akihito stepped past him.

"Maybe later, when we're out of here before they refuse to let me go and try to lock me up" he said and shrugged.

"Though whether you will bite me to death or will end up getting bitten is something we'll only know after we get to Namimori" Akihito said, knowing full well he was provoking the violent guardian. But if he was unable to keep Hibari's attention, the foundation leader would end up drifting off. Truly, the raven was worthy of the cloud guardian tittle.

Ugh, great. Now he was starting to sound like Iemitsu and Nono and his guardians when they talked about him.

If Akihito thought the Varia was a pain in the ass during a trip, he had yet to travel with the Tenth's guardians. It was no wonder Mukuro was tempted to put them all under an illusion and that Hibari had locked himself up in the bathroom. The bickering just didn't stop. Either Gokudera was going off against Yamamoto or against Ryohei, but his mouth just didn't stand still. It wasn't until Akihito practically ordered to go ahead and put them under an illusion, that it finally turned quiet.

"Thank fuck" Akihito said as he leaned back in his seat. Usually, he wasn't against this kind of noise and could handle it easily, but he was tired after a helicopter trip with the Varia that ended in a crash.

"Honestly, don't they ever shut up?" Mukuro agreed and Akihito looked at him.

"You know you can work on your own, right? You don't need to stick with them" he said and Mukuro narrowed his eyes.

"You said something different before" he said and Akihito shook his head.

"You misunderstood. I'm the last person to force you to stick around in a situation you dislike. You can work from Kokuyo with your gang. I'm just counting on you to come through when you need to. That's what you do best, right" he said and Mukuro regarded him.

"Fine. I will come through on my end. But don't think of ordering me around" he warned and Akihito smirked.

"As if I would need to. You're smart enough to know what to do" he said and stretched out. He would take a quick nap and then see if the files he had asked for had already been send through. Maybe check out if Tokyo was still standing or not. Going back to Japan was a bit risky for him and his cover, but it was true that the Tenth guardian's home-base was Namimori. It was probably in Akihito's advantage that Namimori was rather unknown and forgotten, even among Japanese citizens.

He'd rent an apartment under a fake name and keep a line open to Tokyo at all times to know how Asami was moving in order to avoid him. Kou and Takato would be his eyes and report back to him, so Akihito knew he would be able to trust them and do what he had to do to get his cousin back. The less distractions he had, the faster he could work. And the faster Tsunayoshi was back on Japanese soil, the faster Akihito could return to his lover and get the punishment over with.

Sometimes, Asami's possessiveness really annoyed Akihito, restricting his movements greatly. However, he was also aware that if Asami wasn't this restricting, Akihito would have drifted off a long time ago. But he could stand to have a little more freedom. It wasn't like he was going to run anymore. They'd gone through too much for Akihito to leave Asami as easily as that. If only Asami understood this.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	3. Investigation

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and the OCs!

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Akihito looked up from where he was seated in the middle of his living-room, papers spread haphazardly around him. The knocks on his door were insistent but rather soft. Akihito guessed it was someone who was aware of how much noise travels from one apartment to the other. Akihito put down his coffee and stood up, carefully stepping over the papers to open the door.

Looking through the peeping-hole, Akihito recognized Gokudera and Yamamoto, the latter clearly dragged out of bed and the former lacking some serious sleep. The rain guardian was still in his sleepwear while Gokudera looked like he hadn't even closed one eye since they had received and split up the files they had gotten from Vongola HQ. Akihito himself was a mix between the two of them, so he wasn't going to judge.

"Coffee?" Akihito asked as soon as he had opened the door, standing aside to allow the young guardians inside his apartment. His living place wasn't as big as the penthouse he had gotten used to, but it certainly wasn't a shoebox like his first apartment. The living-room alone was the same size as his previous apartment, not to mention more modern. However, Akihito hadn't gone through the trouble to decorate it more than with a couch, a coffee table and a lamp.

Well, besides all the papers marked red or green taking up almost every visible surface, making Gokudera and Yamamoto both watch their step not to touch any of the papers as they made their way into the apartment.

"I'd love some coffee, but maybe you should give Gokudera a chill pill" Yamamoto said and Akihito turned towards his open kitchen.

"I don't need a chill pill, baseball idiot. Juudaime is gone for three days now. What I need is to find him" Gokudera sneered at the rain guardian and Akihito glanced back at the duo.

"What you need to do, is calm down. Getting worked up like this isn't going to find Tsuna any sooner" Yamamoto said, his eyes sharp as Gokudera took a step closer to his fellow guardian.

"Sitting around and sleeping isn't going to find him either" the silverette snapped back and Yamamoto narrowed his eyes.

"I don't want to drop from exhaustion when it comes to a fight. Stressing out like this isn't going to help anyone. Tsuna is our boss. Why don't you try trusting him a bit?" he said and Akihito held two mugs of coffee in front of their faces, breaking off their staring competition. It was clear that even though Yamamoto looked calm and collected, he was just as worried as Gokudera.

"Okay, that's enough. You're both right. My cousin isn't weak and he isn't stupid. Well, maybe he's a little stupid to get kidnapped like this, but I'm sure he won't be sitting still either. However, fighting and taking your stress out on someone else isn't going to help find him. Tsuna is waiting for you to back him up from the outside. The longer you take to fight, the longer Tsuna will have to wait" Akihito said, his gaze switching between rain and storm.

"Gokudera, it's four in the morning. After you told me what you've found, take my room and sleep for a bit. Even an hour is good enough. Your body won't hold out like this and you'll be useless" the blonde scolded, a mother-hen instinct raising its head. Honestly, it was just in his personality when he saw people overwork themselves. Asami was the prime example of it. Luckily, Gokudera was less stubborn than Asami, closing his mouth and cutting himself off before he could refuse the offer.

"I'm not sure if it's useful, but I found a file of a loan-shark that had gone below the Vongola's radar that Juudaime had marked. He usually doesn't mark anyone unless he doesn't have a reason to. Apparently, he even went to meet with him" Gokudera said as he held up the papers he had in his hand, slightly crumpled with the way he had been holding onto them.

"A loan-shark?" Akihito asked and accepted the papers, finding a personal description file in Tsuna's handwriting that could really use improvement.

"Ishigaki Houhei. I've been staring at that paper because it was so strange for Juudaime to mark someone like this, especially a non-flame user, so it was suspicious. But it seems unlikely that one loan-shark would be able to kidnap Juudaime" Gokudera said and Akihito scanned the files.

"I wouldn't say that too soon. Tsuna has met with him face to face, right? He probably didn't tell that guy who he was and just intimidated him. Ishigaki might have gotten pissed off about being scared of a teenager like Tsuna and decided to take him out. Because he's a non-user, Tsuna was doubtful whether or not to use his flames. It also depends whether it was Ishigaki himself or someone hired that took Tsuna" Akihito speculated as he pinched his chin in thought.

"But it's a route, one we can't skip. This guy's office is right outside of Namimori, but I'll ask that guy. Okay, we got something to do. Gokudera, sleep. Before you topple over. Yamamoto, pin him down to the bed if you have to" Akihito said as he turned away from the two teenagers to grab his phone. Gokudera looked like he wanted to refuse once again, so Yamamoto took it upon himself to push the silverette to the door Akihito pointed out blindly while scrolling through his contacts. Reborn had requested of him to use this opportunity to train all the guardians and Akihito wasn't against it. However, Hibari was still eager to fight him.

-You want to get bitten to death, herbivore?-

"Not really. What do you know about Ishigaki Houhei?" Akihito asked, not wasting time with greetings or apologies about the hour he was calling at. He didn't think Hibari would care anyway.

-The loan-shark?-

"Yup, that's the one. Know anything about him?" Akihito asked as he sipped from his mug with cold coffee.

-Nothing much besides what he does-

"Can you do a bit of research? I'll fax you some information Tsuna gathered about him. I want to know where he was five days before and after Tsuna disappeared" the blonde said and the line remained silent.

-Got it. Anything else?-

"I'll take that for my account" Akihito said and wasn't surprise by the speed the call got cut off with. Hibari listening to him was already more than he could ask for and he wasn't going to try asking for more. As fellow cloud, Akihito understood Hibari's personality rather well. He also knew that Hibari didn't deliver half-assed work, proven by the text he received a couple of hours later, when the sun was starting to get up and twin snores were filling the apartment. Akihito gave a quick reply before standing up and stretching, his body cracking from where he had been bend over papers for too long.

Stepping into the kitchen, he checked the mail on his other phone, which was getting overfull with missed calls and text message from his lover. Well, not only Asami, but also Kirishima, Suoh and Sawamura, the guard that usually stalked him when Asami wasn't around the blonde. Akihito was tempted to call the crime-lord, if only to calm him down and to hear his voice. But he knew that if he did, he'd just get tired of the raven nagging him. At least the signal on his phone would direct them somewhere else, in case they decided to track him down. Honestly, CEDEF technology was handy sometimes.

With a troubled expression, Akihito put his phones back in the pockets of his sweatpants low on his hips. He had other, more important things to worry about. It wouldn't do to get distracted now. However, just because the situation was dire, didn't mean that either he or the young guardians needed to skip breakfast. Besides, his stomach complained about its emptiness as soon as he had poured the eggs into the frying pan. It was likely the same smell that woke both guardians up, Gokudera before Yamamoto.

"I don't think there is time to be eating breakfast like this" Gokudera said uncomfortable as he looked at Yamamoto and Akihito sitting at the same dining table that was filled with food. Yamamoto and Akihito looked at the silverette who eyed the food wearily.

"If you don't want to eat, then don't. I'm not forcing you. But don't expect to be at full power when it comes to a fight. You might need the energy sooner than you think" Akihito said, earning both guardian's undivided attention.

"You found something?" Yamamoto asked and Akihito gave a nod.

"The files Gokudera gave me were indeed suspicious. I had Hibari check him out and he was able to give me a detailed report of where Ishigaki Houhei was five days before and after Tsuna disappeared" he said and looked up at the young guardians, a smirk pulling at his lips.

"Apparently, some of his men were scouting the Kokuyo area three days before the kidnapping" he said and Gokudera stood up, his hand landing on the table with a solid smack.

"So those bastards kidnapped Juudaime?!" he said and Akihito gave him a dry look.

"No, but they were behaving suspiciously around the place he disappeared. But those kind of guys always scout the area where they make a deal, which happened two days after Tsuna disappeared" he said and Gokudera frowned.

"So, they had a business transaction there? It's true that the area of Kokuyo is secluded enough to provide a perfect location. But that's all it is, a location. A least desired one because everyone knows that creepy fucker rules the area there" he pointed out and Akihito shrugged as he reached out for a cup of peach yoghurt.

"That might be true, but Houhei is young and new to this side of the world. He might just try to get a one-up on the old sharks" Akihito said as he tore the lid off the cup, raising it to his lips to lick the yoghurt off the bottom.

"So, basically, we're nowhere?" Yamamoto asked and Akihito looked at him.

"Not exactly. There is no harm in going for a little chat. You know, just to see how his business is going. Apparently, it's very good, since he seemed to have gotten a nice sum of money for a deal. I wonder which deal he was stupid enough to strike this close to Namimori" Akihito said and smirked.

"He doesn't need to know who Tsuna is. In fact, it would be better if he didn't. At least not until he's sufficiently warned about how this world works. Tsuna's identity is something he'll learn along his road in this world, but it wouldn't be bad to go and leave a little warning" he said and Gokudera and Yamamoto shared a look.

"Are you sure we can't just go in and beat them up?" the storm guardian asked as Akihito stopped the CEDEF provided car in front of the small business-building, looking at the top window where the loan-shar office was that they needed.

"I'm sure" Akihito said as he reached over to take his gun out of the glove department of the black Lancia Thesis. Though the car wasn't exactly inconspicuous, it was a lot better than the Pagani the Varia drove with. Not that Akihito disliked the Varia cars. No, quite the opposite, since the blonde preferred Italian cars, having learned how to drive them. But in cases like this, they needed to seem as low-levelled mobs as possible.

"However, if they act first, it's counted as self-defence. Behave until that happens and if they attack us first, you're allowed to go crazy" Akihito said as he adjusted the blazer of his black tailored suit to conceal the gun.

"Should we have worn something else if we're going to intimidate them?" Yamamoto asked, for once worried about appearance. With Tsuna having disappeared, it was a too serious situation not to think about those things since they didn't have the time to be taken as a fool or as a brat. Suits certainly would get them to be taken more seriously, but that was not something Akihito cared about. As long as he was taken serious, it was all that mattered. The less attention the guardians got, the better it was. At least for now.

"Don't worry about it. Dress how you feel most comfortable and in what you find appropriate" Akihito said as he switched off the engine to get out of the car. Gokudera and Yamamoto were quick to follow, still worried whether or not they were dressed appropriately.

"The less attention you draw, the freer you will be able to move. And for now, that is exactly what we need. If no-one is searching for Tsuna, the ones who kidnapped him will get cocky, thinking they pulled it off. That's when they make mistakes and that's where we will find our needed opening. For now, all we can do is work towards it so that when the opening is given, we won't come falling from the sky" Akihito said and Gokudera and Yamamoto gave a nod.

Akihito casually strolled into the office, stopping at the lobby without sparing the people walking a glance. He put a smile on his face as he placed his hand on the counter, looking at the young woman that looked up at his arrival. She looked like she was barely in her teens, her make-up so thick Akihito was afraid to breath and accidentally blow it all away. Her nails were long and decorated with sparkles and pearl, looking like they'd be better used as murder-weapons. Her disinterested, bored look disappeared as she looked the blonde up and down, ignoring Yamamoto and Gokudera behind the blonde.

"What can I help you with?" the teen asked as she leaned forward, giving the blonde a rather good view of her assets, almost dropping out of her half-open button up shirt. Akihito glanced down before drawing his eyes back up.

"We'd like to see Houhei-san. Do you think that's possible, miss?" the blonde asked and the teen gave him a charming smile.

"Hold on and let me check if he has an appointment with you" she said before she turned to her computer. Akihito watched her as she typed, her back curved away from the chair.

"Ah, right here. You're a bit early, Mizutani-san" the teen said and Akihito chuckled.

"Well, I was a bit too eager, so I ended up coming a bit early. But it's a little embarrassing for a grown man, so please don't say anything about it to Houhei-san" he said and the teen smirked at him as she gave him a sideway look.

"That might cost you, sir. My silence fees are dinner and a drink" she said and Akihito doubted she was even legal to drink.

"Silence fees, huh? I'd surely have asked for more, if at least a night at the most luxurious hotel I could think of, in a room with at the very least a jacuzzi. But I see you're too busy for that. At least for now" the blonde said and the teen turned to him.

"Ishigaki-san is waiting for you. I'll be waiting too, after work at seven I the bar around the corner" she said and Akihito knew that if she really did wait, she would be doing so for a long time.

"Thank you for your co-operation, miss" the blonde said before turning away.

"Did you really have to flirt with her?" Gokudera sneered as they took the elevator up to the top floor.

"It's easier to distract her that way so she wouldn't have called in with Houhei to check. Besides, I have no intention of picking her up, don't worry. My main focus is finding Tsuna" Akihito said because even if he had been interested in what the teen had to offer, he hadn't left his lover to play around. Nothing the young secretary had could compare to what Asami was capable of making him feel.

Akihito glanced back at the guardian duo as they walked up to the office, seeing how nervous they were, their spines straight and their eyes alert, looking around the hallway. Akihito didn't tell them to relax, knowing they wouldn't anyway as he knocked on the door of the office. A smile curled his lips as the door opened to show a rough looking bald man, almost a head taller than Akihito.

"Sorry for disturbing" the blonde said and the bald man frowned, getting out of the way enough for the young man behind the desk to look at their guest, frowning when he did so.

"You're not" he started but cut off when Akihito grabbed the bald man's temples, covering his eyes with his palm as he forced the man backwards. Putting his foot behind the bigger man's ankle, Akihito gave a push as he swept the man's feet from under him. The ground cracked slightly under the man's head as he was thrown on the floor, bouncing a little after because of the impact. Akihito smiled at the loan-shark sitting behind his desk as he lowered his hand again, effortlessly having thrown down a man he fitted in twice.

"What good eyes you have, Ishigaki Houhei. I'm Takaba Akihito and I've come here for a little chat. Do you have some time for us?" Akihito asked and Houhei scoffed.

"You come here in my office forcefully and take down one of my guards, just for a little chat? Somehow, that's hard to believe" he said and grinned pleased.

"Come on in and take a seat" he said as he stood up and pointed at the sofa standing in front of his desk, accompanied by two one seaters across from it with a coffee table in between. Akihito, Gokudera and Yamamoto sat down in the largest sofa white Ishigaki sat down in the one seater closest to the desk, ordering his men to take care of the bald man that had been KO-ed at the door.

"So, Takaba Akihito, what can I help you with?" Ishigaki asked as he glanced shortly at the two teens before looking back at the blonde, a glim in his eyes Akihito had no trouble recognizing and no qualms about using against the loan-shark.

"Do you want my company to sponsor this kid in a kendo competition?" the loan-shark took a wild guess, smirking as if he more than just average in both looks and status. Akihito laughed good-heartedly as he folded his hands in his lap, his legs crossed smoothly.

"As if your insignificant little company would be able to sponsor this guy. You shouldn't get ahead of yourself" Akihito said, delivering his words with a kind smile that was completely opposite to his words. It took a while before Ishigaki had realize what Akihito had said, his chuckle cutting off and his smile falling. Yamamoto on the other hand, was having trouble not to laugh.

"We are here for something else entirely. I'm sure you are aware of whose territory you are close to?" Akihito asked, seeing recognition light up in his eyes.

"You're that guy's men? Rokudo Mukuro?" he guessed and the mere idea of it seemed to disgust Gokudera who moved to stand up and open his mouth to insult the man. Probably his entire family while he was at it. However, Akihito holding out his arm was enough to stop him in his tracks.

"It doesn't matter who we work for. We merely noticed that you managed to strike a deal close to the Kokuyo territory that ranked in a big amount of money. Needlessly to say, both Rokudo Mukuro and Hibari Kyouya are less than pleased with this" Akihito said smoothly, watching the loan-shark's breathing get deeper, his lips pressing together just that tiny bit more. It seemed insignificant, but to Akihito it spoke volumes.

"I will admit, taking up residence between these two territories is smart since everyone knows about the relationship between both leaders and that they will stay as far away from each other as possible. But while it is the safest place to be, it only is so if you don't make a reckless move. Now you have both sides on your ass. What we would like to know, is what you gave in order to get that sum" the blonde mafioso said and Ishigaki narrowed his eyes.

"I don't speak to lap dogs of either of them. If they have a problem with me, that can come talk to me in person" Ishigaki sneered and moved to stand up. Akihito was quicker, however, smoothly leaping up to sit on the table, landing on the edge in front of the loan-shark. Gokudera and Yamamoto jumped up to take Ishigaki's men under aim as Akihito's foot was placed on Ishigaki's collarbone, pushing him back into his seat. Akihito leaned back on his hands on the table as wide eyes stared at both the katana catching the light, the cigarette dangerously close to the fuse of the dynamite sticks and Akihito smirking at the loan-shark.

"I think you're getting something wrong here. If either Mukuro or Hibari came here, you wouldn't even have the chance to talk, cause you'd be dead. Or at least beaten into a coma" Akihito said and tilted his head as he shifted his foot, the heel of his black polished dress shoe brushing the base of the man's throat where his collarbones joined together.

"So, want to do this the easy way or the hard way? I'm fine with either way as long as I get my answers. What was your end of the bargain?" Akihito asked, the look in his eyes sharp as he regarded the loan-shark that looked considerably paler than before. He swallowed thickly, his hands twitching as it moved towards his blazer. Akihito huffed as he added a bit of pressure on his foot, hearing the loan-shark's breathing hitch, his subordinates wanting to step in but unable to with the threats in front of them, eyes daring them to go ahead and try.

"You wish to do this the hard way?" Akihito asked as he reached his hand towards his gun. Ishigaki pressed himself back into his seat, swallowing thickly as his eyes were locked on the hand that disappeared behind the blonde's lower back.

"Nogami Seiki! I arranged a meeting with some arrogant kid that passed by my office a few days before. I don't know what happened, just know that it had to be in a place where no security camera would reach. That's all I know and all I was paid for" he said and Akihito smiled as Gokudera and Yamamoto glared at the man.

Now, if that wasn't a familiar name.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	4. Visit

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and its OCs!

I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"Do we really have to take him along?" Gokudera asked with a scowl at the ruins of the Kokuyou district they stood in front of. Akihito rested his chin on his crossed arms on top of the steering-wheel as he looked at the road in front of them, cut off by junk and rumble.

"He currently has more information that you do, Gokudera. It's okay to keep a healthy portion of suspicion towards him, but if he can help find Tsuna, just shut up and deal with it" Akihito said, a little on edge. After all, he had no doubt that the one they would be paying a visit would be able to recognize his name, if not his face. Gokudera seemed to notice that there was something off about the blonde and turned to look back at the Kokuyo district, perking up slightly at the sight of a familiar figure.

"He's here" he said and Akihito sat straight again, leaving his wrist resting on the steering-wheel while placing the other on the gearshift. It didn't take long before the mist-guardian slid into the back-seat of the car, closing the door behind him with a blank expression.

"About time" Gokudera complained and Mukuro merely regarded him.

"If we don't leave soon, Ken and Chikusa will decide to follow us" he warned and Akihito huffed.

"They're welcome to try" he said, cutting off the silverette before he could snap back at the dark purple-haired guardian for taking too long. He backed the car up and turned it around before steering it back onto the road. He turned the music higher in order to fill the tense silence that hung in the car, but even the up-beat songs weren't breaking it. Gokudera was too nervous, Mukuro was too out of his comfort zone and Akihito just wanted to get this day over with. He would contact Asami later, even if it was only a text message to say he was okay. No doubt, rumours would reach the crime-lord's ears, which would be bad for Akihito. There was no way for him to avoid rumours since they were harder to kill than hope.

Maybe if Akihito contacted Asami, it would somewhat pacify the crime-lord before the rumours would reach him and could make him search for the blonde harder. Akihito was just glad that Nogami's house was not in Namimori, so his location wouldn't be revealed instantly. It would still give Asami an idea of where he was, but not a specific location. It was something Akihito could work with to put the crime-lord on a wrong path. He really disliked lying to his lover, but there wasn't really any other option left. Asami, for all that he loved Akihito, didn't believe that the blonde could do things on his own. He always believed that Akihito needed saving. Nothing could be farther from the truth, but in some cases, the truth was hard to accept.

Akihito was flattered that Asami felt protective over him and that he wanted to keep Akihito safe. It went to proof how much he felt for the blonde and how important he was to the crime-lord. How could he not be flattered by that? But the flip-side to the coin was that his protectiveness could be suffocating sometimes. As long as Asami remained unaware of the fact that Akihito was stronger and higher ranked in the underground society than he was, Asami would continue to think that Akihito needed his protection.

On the other hand, if Asami knew about Akihito's real identity, how would he react? Akihito doubted Asami would try to use him for his work, since the crime-lord was not that kind of person. However, it was possible that Asami would think Akihito had played him, which wasn't the case. Otherwise, he would have never stayed with the raven after the man had raped him. In fact, Asami would probably be either dead or in prison, where he would likely be killed by his enemies. But that didn't change the fact that Akihito was blatantly lying to his lover, keeping him in the dark about who he really was. If Asami knew what his forte was, would he think that Akihito only got close to gather information?

Shaking his head to rid himself of those depressing thoughts, Akihito focussed back on the road, trying to find a suitable parking spot that was close enough to their needed address but wouldn't get them a parking ticket. Even for someone in the mafia like Akihito, a parking ticket was a parking ticket. It wouldn't dent his wallet, but it was still a pain to pay. He cut the engine when they were parked on walking distance of the house where their target lived, the walk being a very silent one before Akihito rang the needed doorbell. As the door opened, Akihito put a smile on his face.

"What?" the slightly older man behind the door said sharply as he peered through the small opening of the door.

"Would you mind letting us inside, sir?" Akihito asked and the man grimaced.

"Yeah, I mind" he said and moved to close the door, prevented by Akihito's foot slamming into it, kicking it open.

"That's regrettable" Akihito said as he heard the man fall back against the wall, the door smacking him in his face as Gokudera and Mukuro glanced at the blonde who stepped forward.

"Excuse us" the cloud said as he stepped inside the apartment, not even bothering with taking his shoes off. The two guardians followed after the older mafioso as the older man held his nose.

"Hey! You can't just trespass like this! I'll call the cops!" he said and Akihito looked over his shoulder as he stopped in the living-room, his smile turning into a smirk.

"Go ahead and call them. I wonder who they will lock up between us two" he said as he looked around the living-room of the apartment, walking around calmly as the man glared at his back, looking just about ready to kill him.

"I see you've got quite a few things of importance here, Nogami Seiki-san. I wonder how you were able to buy all this with your meagre wage of a cashier. You must have a lucrative side-job to be able to afford this luxury" Akihito said, instantly freezing the man up. Hazel eyes send a sharp look back at the slightly over-weight man who moved to shut his door, sweat already gathering on his forehead. Akihito smiled pleased at this reaction.

"I see I have your attention now" he said and Nagami wiped his hands as subtle as possible on his pants as he walked into his living-room where Gokudera stood next to the sofa, Mukuro having taken place next to the window, covering it with a thin, barely visible layer of mist to cast the illusion of normality inside the apartment for anyone who looked at the window.

"Who are you and what do you want?" the balding man asked weary and Akihito turned back to the decoration table against the wall, holding several pictures. His gaze darkened at the picture of a smiling chubby woman with a toddler.

"Who I am is not important. What I want on the other hand is very important. You see, your lucrative side-business has caused some serious issues with those above me" Akihito said, though the ones above him were only two people. One very worried mafia father and the other a very concerned mafia don. But clearly, this man didn't know what it was like to be a father.

"You want money?" Nogami guessed and Akihito scoffed a she lifted up the picture frame of the man's wife and kid.

"Please. As if I want money that's soaked in the tears of little kids" he said sharply, making the man gulp at the cold tone of his voice.

"What I want is answers. Answers you're going to give me when I ask you a few little questions" Akihito said as he put down the picture frame again and turned around to look at the man.

"I'm not going to listen to a person whose name I don't even know" Nogami sneered, attempting to get in control of the situation again.

"I doubt knowing my name will change the outcome of this visit" Akihito answered as he leaned back against the hip-high rectangular table.

"Now, why don't you make it easier on yourself and sit down before you faint" the blonde said, giving a pointed look at the sofa in front of him. Nogami doubted for half a minute before moving to sit down. Akihito shook his head with a confused expression.

"I will never understand why you choose to work for Sakazaki when it makes you this nervous" he said and Nogami's eyes flittered left before they settled back on the blonde.

"Sakazaki? Who are you talking about?" he asked and Akihito clicked disgusted with his tongue.

"Oh please, spare me the act. We both know you work for that disgusting gorilla of a Sakazaki. You're his contact person here while he's in Tokyo, selling women in those brothels of him. One or two more police higher ups need to catch an STD from their activities there and they'll start to try and shut it down. But it doesn't matter much to that fucker because he still has his auctions here. I know that much, so don't bother denying it and stop polluting the air with your futile attempts to do so" Akihito said with a grimace. Some things really got to him more than others. The things that included Sakazaki were part of those things, especially after the meetings Akihito had with the gorilla. The thought of it still made him gag.

"What I want is a list of the kids you brought to the auction in the past four weeks. No, you know what? I want them all. The entire list of kids and adults you brought to the auction hall ever since you started working for that gorilla" Akihito said and Nogami grimaced as he averted his eyes.

"I can't do that" he said and Akihito's eyebrow twitched.

"What? Is your son's name on the list too? Rich, old fucks like little boys who have yet to be broken in" Akihito said, gaining a reaction from the balding man who glared at him as he jumped up.

"Shut your mouth about my son!" he demanded and Akihito narrowed his eyes.

"Sit your ass down, you fat pig" he sneered as he pushed off, walking closer to the man with sure strides, stopping right in front of him until he was in the man's face.

"People like you piss me off more than anything in this world. You sell kids the same age as your own children, but when it comes to your own flesh and blood, you get protective. What does your kid have that those others don't? How would you feel if I took your son away from you and sold him to the highest bidder, uncaring for the abuse they are put through before they're either dumped into a dirty back-alley or passed around like a blow-up doll, doped on drugs and one heartbeat away from death?" Akihito asked darkly, seeing the fear in Nogami's dark brown eyes as they widened, his face paling. Yet Akihito was far from done.

"Imagine your son put on display at an auction, treated like a piece of meat and fondled for all eyes to see, knowing that one of those men is going to rip your son's asshole so badly, he'll get an infection. If he doesn't get an infection for the damage internally, maybe form the broken bones or the cuts he receives from all the beatings? If he even survives for long enough to get an infection, because 5 out of 10 kids sold at those auctions end up either being tortured to death or commit suicide because of the abuse. Do you have any idea what kind of mental traumas rape gives?

It's already bad enough for adults, but kids forced into having sex when they don't even know what it is, makes them think it's all normal. I've known kids from those auctions beg their own parents for sex upon reuniting, because they know that drugs follow. Can you imagine that happening to your son, doped up and unbuckling your belt because he's that desperate for drugs?" Akihito asked and saw the balding man turn green at the idea of it.

"People like you make me want to shoot you in the balls until the bullet comes out through the back of your brain-pan. But then I would be taking away the fun of the parents who would love to torture you for what you put their child through and I wouldn't want that. After all, it is that much more amusing and satisfying to see a parent be presented with the one who broke their child. So unless you want me to contact some of those parents, you better co-operate and do your very best not to piss me off any more than just looking at your face does" Akihito said and instantly, the man fell boneless into the one-seater.

"We can put a bag over it. A plastic one" Mukuro suggested and Akihito looked at him as he walked away from the man again, afraid he might actually shoot him if he stayed close enough.

"But then I'd still have to see his face" Akihito said and Gokudera crossed his arms.

"Not if you use a trash-bag. It would fit him very well" he said and Mukuro scoffed.

"If you could even get it over his fat head" he said and the trio chuckled at the joke, ignoring the aghast, scared expression on Nogami's sweat-damp face. Clearly, neither of the guardians could forgive child trafficking either.

"Now, back to the subject. The list, where is it" Akihito said and Nogami swallowed thick, reaching into his pocket for his hanky so he could pat his forehead dry.

"I-I can't just give it to you. Sakazaki will kill me and then sell my family" he said and Akihito huffed.

"Leave that gorilla to me. I have some unfinished business with him" he said and Nogami looked up, suddenly hopeful.

"I-It's in that d-drawer. The second one on the right" he said as he pointed at the low closet against the wall close to Gokudera. The storm guardian pulled open the drawer, frowning as he ruffled through it.

"It has a secret bottom. It's all papers because it's easier to destroy the evidence than on the computer, which always makes back-ups" the heavy-weight man said and Gokudera cleared the drawer not too friendly, throwing everything out on the floor. Akihito sighed soft as he moved to pick it up and put it on the surface of the drawers.

"Found it" Gokudera said as he held up a thick stack of papers, making the three mafioso grimace at it, knowing that each paper was a selling contract, sealing a child's unfortunate fate. At least Nogami had the decency to look ashamed.

"When's the next auction going to be?" Akihito asked as Gokudera started searching through the contracts.

"I- I don't know" Nogami said, his eyes shifting in a tell-tale sign that he was lying. However, Mukuro didn't need to see that to know, scoffing at the poor lie.

"Then why does your face appear on every CCTV footage of the auction halls?" he asked as he dug some printed images out of his back-pocket, throwing them onto the coffee table in front of the balding man. Nogami swallowed thickly as the pictures fanned out to show his face on every one of them, leading dazed kids inside a building.

"H-how did you?" he asked and Mukuro chuckled.

"How could I not? Now, where is the next one going to be?" he asked and Nogami wrung his hands in his lap, the slide going shaky with the dampness caused by his sweat.

"I-I really don't know. The location changes every time" he said and Akihito looked at Mukuro. They both knew that to be the truth, but they also knew Nogami was part of the organization. There was no way he didn't know where the next auction was going to be. Akihito shook his head displeased as he stepped up next to the mist guardian.

"And we were doing so well up until now. I've been so friendly even, but it seems like it's being taken advantage off" he said as he reached into the back-pocket of his black jeans, having pulled on something a little less formal than a suit in the form of a white T-shirt and a black bomber-jacket.

"Why are you pulling on gloves?" Nogami asked wearily as he watched Akihito wiggle his fingers into position in his black leather gloves. Honestly, he should already know what this meant.

"Because I don't want any of your bacteria or blood on me, you know. That's just gross" Akihito said and turned his gaze at the balding man in the one-seater as Mukuro moved to stand behind him. With his foot, Akihito pushed the coffee table out of the way so he could stand in front of Nogami.

"I know torture won't work either, since after a while, people just start telling me what I want to hear just to get me to stop. But my courtesy gets taken advantage of, so I don't have any other choice. Besides, I'm still pretty pissed and I really don't like your face. Maybe it'll look better with a little blood on it" Akihito said as he tilted his head at the older man, whose face instantly paled. Nogami literally jumped as Mukuro laid his hands down on his shoulders, to make sure the heavy-weight man wouldn't try to run.

"At least make sure to keep a few teeth. They're so hard to understand when they've lost them all" he said with a smile that didn't fit his words.

"True, but as long as we don't break all of his fingers, he can still write, right?" Akihito said and Mukuro laughed softly.

"Kufufufufu. Let's hope his teeth don't cut open the inside of his stomach. It'd be a shame if he'd kicked the bucket because of an internal bleeding before we even got to the fun part" he said and Nogami trembled as his head shot from Akihito to Mukuro as the duo laughed.

"W-w-w-wait! I-I'll talk!" the balding man said and Akihito and Mukuro looked at him.

"The next auction is in Tokyo, the organizer is Shirabuki Tomoharu. That's all I know, I swear" Nogami said and Akihito gave a thoughtful hum. Shirabuki Tomoharu was not a name unfamiliar to Akihito. The blonde smiled, giving a nod at Mukuro to release the man.

"We thank you for your co-operation. See? That wasn't that hard, was it?" Akihito asked as Nogami heaved a breath of relief.

"Akihito-san" Gokudera called out and the blonde looked up as recognition lit up Nogami's eyes. The balding man's head shot up at the mafioso in front of him who shared a meaningful look with Gokudera, one that was understandable without words.

"Akihito? As in Takaba Akihito, Asami Ryuichi's woman?" Nogami asked and Akihito looked at him as both Gokudera and Mukuro raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was aware that I had been given such a name among the lower circles, but to hear someone say it to my face, really makes me want to punch them" the blonde said, slightly amused. At him practically admitting who he was, Nogami screeched as he pushed back into his seat.

"I know nothing more than I have told you, I swear!" he said and Akihito placed his hands on the arm-rests with a smirk as Nogami attempted to scrambled back further.

"You know, pig, in this underground world, there are things scarier than Asami. It would be best for you to remember that. If you speak about this to anyone, it won't just stay with this painless little visit" he warned before pushing off, leaving the man to catch his breath as they left the apartment with the contracts in their possession. Akihito pulled out his phone and typed a message, instantly sending it through. It was only when they were in the safety of his car that Gokudera opened his mouth.

"Juudaime was at an auction, but the contract hasn't been signed" he said and Akihito gave a grim hum as he stopped the car in front of the apartment building. He had expected something like that, after all. Though in his suspicion, the contract would have been signed. Akihito didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"So that means we're on the good route" he said as he rested his elbow on the windowsill, his fist pressing against his lips as he stared out of the window. It didn't take long before he heard sirens in the distance, approaching their location, making both Gokudera and Mukuro raise their guards. The two cars, complete with their blue lights and loud siren, one a civilian car and one a police-issued car, stopped in front of the apartment-building. It didn't take long before two officers and one inspector stepped outside with a hand-cuffed Nogami in between them. Akihito had the gall to raise his hand as the heavy-weight man recognized them, his eyes wide and fearful. The blonde's phone rang, the inspector across the street holding a cell-phone against his ear.

-We got him, Takaba-san. He won't be getting free any time soon. I'll make sure of it.-

"Good. Can you also make sure Inspector Hiroshi is on the case? His daughter was one of that pig's victims" Akihito said into the hands-free device of his car that was connected to his smart-phone.

-Got it-

"Also, do remind him often enough about what happens to sick fucks who put their hands on children in prison. I'm sure he'd love the reminder" Akihito said and saw the inspector give a confirming nod. There really was no way Akihito would have allowed that bastard to get away with what he had done. Judging by the looks on the guardian's faces, they had no problem watching the man get driven off. Now all that was left for them to do was crash an auction and hope Tsuna was there. Though Akihito doubted it would be that easy.

* * *

Thank you very much for reading!


	5. Clouds

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and the OCs!

Please enjoy!

* * *

Akihito shook his head as he still couldn't believe the kid next to him. Who in his right mind would try to enter a human auction in a school uniform? Even so, Hibari had already graduated, why the hell was he still wearing that uniform?! Thank god the blonde had managed to convince the young mafioso to wear a suit. In any other situation, Akihito wouldn't have cared what the raven wore. But currently they were trying to get inside a place where guys Hibari's age were sold. If he showed up wearing a gakuran, there was no way they'd be letting them in, even with a bit of persuasion. This was currently their best guess to finding Tsuna, which they couldn't pass up.

If anyone found anything suspicious about them, they would pack up and leave even before Akihito would managed to ask a few questions. The blonde couldn't let that happen. If they didn't have the time to ask a few questions, there was no way they'd have time to look for Tsuna in between the hostages. If he was still there in the first place. The unsigned contract should be proof that Tsuna hadn't been sold yet and should still be between the hostages to get sold on the next auction, but Akihito wasn't getting his hopes up. He knew all too well how much money would be paid for someone like his cousin, even if it was only because of his face and not his identity.

Ah, the struggles of those with cursed genes that made them look way younger than they actually were.

"We're here" Akihito said as he turned towards the entrance doors of a Chinese restaurant in Yokohama's Chinatown. Neither Akihito nor Mukuro had expected the auction to take place in Tokyo after one of the organizers got caught by the police. From what Akihito knew of Shirabuki Tomoharu, the one who organized the current auction, the blonde knew the man would want to keep it close to home, where he had most power and even the police remained wary of doing anything even if they wanted to. It hadn't taken Mukuro much to find out the exact location and time before leaving the rest to Akihito and Hibari, who had volunteered himself. Well, not with words, but with his presence alone. Akihito had no objections.

"Good evening, A table for two?" the woman behind the counter asked as she made a bow at the two men approaching her. Akihito gave her a smile, resting one arm on the counter.

"Please. And if possible, could you make it on the third floor?" he asked and the woman tensed. Her eyes that had been directed at the floor, now shot up to meet hazel eyes, widened as if she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do. Well, it wasn't that far off, considering she aided human trafficking, but it wasn't like Akihito or Hibari were police. However, it was still up for debate who was worse in this situation. No doubt, the traffickers would prefer the police over mafioso looking for their next boss.

"I'm afraid we don't have a third floor, sir" the lady said and Akihito tilted his head. The woman was new to her position. Otherwise, she would have known that her eyes were giving her away. However, Akihito could work with that.

"How odd. I'm sure Shirabuki-sama told me there was. Our boss is looking for someone, you see" he said and was it wasn't a lie. His boss really was looking for someone at the auction. Only, they had no intention of buying him. They would take Tsuna back by force, even if violence wasn't necessary.

"S-shirabuki-sama did?" she asked with a stutter as her eyes widened a little more before her head went down again, her bow deeper this time.

"I apologize for my rudeness. I will take you to the third floor" she said, her fear making her voice tremble. Clearly she knew what was going on and that if she fucked up, she would be the next one to be sold. Akihito really wondered why people entered this business if they were so afraid of the consequences. Akihito had joined the mafia, knowing he would die a death lower than a stray dog. But he had done it for revenge, even when he had been given the opening to cut all ties to the mafia. He was aware that cutting every tie with mafia was impossible, but with his skill, he would have been able to lead a perfectly normal life, away from all the blood-shed. He might have done so, if one incident hadn't left his parents brutally murdered and send to his door-step in a cart-board box.

Alas, such was the fate of mafioso. Akihito knew this better than anyone, having grown up in that world. And when presented with the choice, he had chosen to sink even deeper. He had single-handedly cleaned up the famiglia who had killed his parents and formed a threat to the Vongola. What people said about revenge tasting sweet, clearly hadn't had a taste of revenge. It tasted like iron, gun-powder, charred flesh, smoke and bile. Akihito had known what he had gotten himself into and had made peace with it. He was a mafioso through and through, down to the marrow of his bones. But he didn't let it control him. While he was qualified to be a Varia soldier with the kill-count he had on his name, Akihito didn't condone killing. He was strong enough to decide whether to kill someone or not in a fight.

Being with Asami had mellowed him out. At least enough to have a kidnapping get to him emotionally, enough to make him reach for a gun. Yuri had been lucky the gun had had a malfunction. If it hadn't, his brains would have been splattered across the hallways. Akihito doubted he would have stopped at that. He wouldn't have been satisfied until he had emptied the magazine in the giant's body. Akihito didn't condone killing, but that didn't mean that he wasn't capable of doing so. If something drove him to it, Akihito was perfectly capable of turning off his emotions and taking a life without remorse. Human-trafficking was one of the things that brushed that emotion switch.

"Is there something you would like me to get for you, sir?" the woman asked as Akihito sat down at one of the round tables in the building behind the restaurants that looked like a gladiator arena. However, the purpose of the floor below was not fighting, but selling. Hibari sat down at the second chair at the table, though he looked like he'd prefer to keep standing. Obviously, he wanted to get this over with just as quick as Akihito did.

"I'd like some sheng jian bao, and he'll take shumai, please" the blonde said and Hibari send him a sharp look as the woman retreated with a bow.

"I don't want food" Hibari said as soon as she was out of hearing range and Akihito took a look around the upper floor that held tables all around the arena, placing in such a way every table had view over the spectacled on the floor below. All the tables were full, sharply dressed men and women talking with each other with smiles, as if they weren't about to buy people to ruin their lives.

"Don't worry, you don't have to eat if you don't want to. It's just to appear normal. Besides, I'm hungry" Akihito said and his eyes connected was a familiar face.

"Ah" he said as he watched the man get up instantly as soon as he saw the blonde.

"That guy remembers me" Akihito said, slightly amused, as he watched the man gather his stuff and make a break for it.

"After him?" Hibari asked as he moved to stand up, stopping when Akihito waved it off.

"No, he's not important. He's a remaining soldier of a famiglia I crushed before. He's insignificant" he said, though he would keep it in mind. It didn't hurt to research and see why the man was at the auction. A former mafia soldier like him hardly had the money to be at an auction that sold people.

"The price of human lives seems to have gotten cheaper" Akihito said distasteful yet blank as he lowered his chopsticks after working down the dumplings.

"It is not something that should have a price" Hibari commented, having emptied his own plate despite his earlier protests. Akihito's eyebrow rose as he tilted his head towards the raven.

"Can't talk back to that. I'd say, let's clean up house before they are able to get to the younger category" he said as he moved to stand up, having watched the third adult being brought up to the stage in the middle. Hibari was right behind him as they walked up to the red wooden balustrade that prevented anyone from falling over the edge of the upper floor. People watched them as they went, their attention shifting from the woman naked on display in the middle of the stage to Akihito as he hopped onto the thick balustrade.

Fearlessly, Akihito stepped down, sailing feet first to the ground below, landing as if he had merely jumped off a little step even when the ground showed little cracks under his feet. For once, there was no smile on his face as walked up to the woman, ignoring the murmurs going through the crowd and Hibari landing in a crouch behind him.

"W-who the hell are you?!" the announcer demanded into his microphone headset, holding the chains of the woman. Akihito disregarded him in favour of taking off his blazer, revealing the gun stuck behind his waistband on his lower back.

"Here you go" the blonde said as he draped his blazer around the woman's shoulders. She reacted immediately by grabbing a hold of the revers and pulling it closed to hide her naked body. Akihito raised her chin to check her eyes, seeing that she had been drugged, but not often enough to lose her rational thinking completely.

"Go back to where you came from, where the others are and keep everyone there" Akihito said and felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"I asked you who the fuck you are?! Are you listening, brat?!" the announcer sneered and Akihito glared at the man, grabbing his wrist.

"You talk too much. The only one who will be asking questions, is us. Depending on the answers you give us, you will leave here either with a few bruises, or in a body-bag" he warned as he put some force on his hand, feeling the bones protest under his grip.

"Where is Shirabuki Tomoharu?" Akihito asked and heard someone clap in his hands on the floor above.

"Now, now, young man. If you wanted to see me, you could have just asked for an appointment. No need to be so violent. Your gun has chased away all my costumers" a man in his late thirties said as he stood at the balcony with a smile on his face that looked a tad bit too lecherous to be innocent. Clearly, the man felt himself king in his castle, judging by the arrogance he held himself with.

"I would always make time for a pretty face like yours" he said and Akihito released the announcer who scrambled back to cradle his wrist.

"That may be so, but this made more of an impact, didn't it? At least now, I have your full attention" the blonde mafioso said calmly as Hibari too, kept his attention on the old human trafficker.

"Correct. So, who are you and what do you need me for?" Shirabuki asked and Akihito regarded him, reluctant on revealing his name this close to Asami's territory. This part basically belonged to his lover and it would no doubt reach his ears if Akihito showed up there at a human auction.

"I'm looking for someone. About yay high, brunet with a bird-nest as hair, light-brown eyes, doesn't look all that legal" the blonde said as he raised his hand to the height he knew Tsuna to be. Poor kid didn't look like he would grow taller than a bit above the blonde's shoulder.

"You still haven't told me your name, goldie locks" Shirabuki said and Akihito gave him a blank look.

"And I don't plan on doing so either. This close to his territory, everyone gets scared whenever they hear my name. I only want answers, even if we have to get them by force" he said and Shirabuki laughed softly as he raised his hand, beckoning his two fingers.

"Then it's a regret that you're outnumbered" he said as both clouds glanced around at the men that approached them, dressed in black suits and on guard. Some even had their fists raised, while others were holding up guns.

"47, huh" Akihito counted and Hibari looked at him.

"Oi" he called out and the blonde hummed as he looked over his shoulder at the young cloud guardian.

"Don't get in my way" he warned and Akihito raised his hands.

"Got it. They're all yours. Go crazy. But do watch out for the guns" the older mafioso warned as he stepped aside, watching Hibara step forward as he took out his tonfas. From where, Akihito had no idea, but he couldn't really be bothered with founding out. Besides, they wielded flames and manifested animals from thin air. Producing tonfas from god knows where wasn't exactly high on the list of mysteries. At least not in Akihito's opinion.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Akihito watched as Hibari fought his way through the horde of mobsters. The young cloud was Decimo's generation's strongest fighter, just like the rumours said. He was merciless, quick and efficient. No wasted movement was made and his senses were open, slamming the back of his tonfas into the face of the stupid mobsters who tried to sneak up on his back. He had no openings and didn't need an opening to land a hit. With each man that went down, Shirabuki looked paler and paler, his smile making place for a scared expression.

Akihito saw the exact moment the man tried to make a break for it, taking along his five guards towards the door. He pushed off, using one of the men in front of Hibari as a step up to jump back up onto the balustrade. The raven didn't seem too pleased with it, but Akihito's foot already hooked behind the neck of one of the guards in a high-kick, using enough force to send him flying into the wall. Shirabuki shrieked as the guard's face connected with the surface, cracking the wall as well as his nose.

The human trafficker looked back to see one of his guards raise his gun at Akihito, only to have his wrist grabbed and pushed aside for the blonde's heel to slam into the mob's chin. Not allowing the mob to fall backwards, Akihito pulled the man in front of him as a shield as shots were fired, hitting the unconscious guard in the back and shoulder, the blood splattering the blonde's cheek as he dropped the body. He stepped forward once more, keeping his torso low and under the shooter's guard while looking up at him, his hazel eyes almost glowing with his killing intent.

The man backed a step away, but was too late to avoid the blonde's fist slamming into his stomach, making him hunch over. A series of quick punches followed, alternating between face, chest and stomach before the blonde moved low enough to stand on his hands, twisting to kick his foot down into the back of the man's head, slamming him into the ground. He then pushed off of his hands, using a bit of his flames to propel him high enough so he landed into the neck of the mob behind him, his crotch into the man's face as he hooked his ankles together.

He allowed himself to fall backwards onto his hands, using his speed to drag the male off his feet and onto the ground below him before slamming his palms repeatedly into either his jaw, nose, temple and jugular in quick succession. The last guard's hand shook as he aimed his gun at the blonde. Akihito moved to take him out, only to be beat to it by a body flying straight into the guard and toppling him over. The blonde mafioso turned quickly, ejecting his bo staff into his hand as he moved. He activated his flames enough to elongate the staff to its normal size, just on time to hold back the tonfa going for his head without hiding it.

"Didn't I tell you not to get in my way, herbivore? I'll bite you to death" Hibari growled as he glared at the blonde, his arm trembling where it was held back by the black bo staff. His cheeks were splattered with blood, likely from his victim's broken noses, jaws and teeth. But of well, Akihito's face didn't look all that different.

"Yes, yes, and you'll get the chance to try. After we get our questions answered" Akihito said before directing his attention to the trafficker that was cowering against the wall, shivering as he stared at them with wide fearful eyes and a ghostly white face.

"I-I'll talk! I'll tell you whatever you want to know" he said as he raised his hands in a peace offer. Hibari took a step back from the blonde, allowing the older mafioso to lower his bo staff until it was held behind his back, one tip pointed at the floor and the other at the ceiling.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi. He isn't here. Where is he?" Hibari demanded and the man blinked at him.

"T-that kid? The weak looking brunet? H-he was sold. We had to set up a contract under a fake name. I don't know why, I swear! They just said that they wanted to give him a different name in case people were coming after them! I didn't know he was important! I just thought his parents were rich!" Shirabuki said, clearly hoping his answers would give him mercy.

"Who bought him?" Hibari asked and the man swallowed, wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand.

"Minami Benji! I remembered his name because he paid a high sum for the kid!" he said and Akihito hummed. Minami Benji. It wasn't a name he recognized. So it must have been a middle person, carrying out orders because the real buyers wanted to keep their identity a secret.

"Was he a regular?" Akihito asked and Shirabuki shook his head so quickly it looked like it was about to fly off his shoulders any second.

"Not at all! First time I ever saw him! He was really nervous too! A first time newby! He also looked scared and like he didn't want to do it, but I thought it was just because it was his first time!" he said and Akihito hummed as he turned away, having received the answers he wanted. He glanced sideways at the younger cloud, seeing that the guardian was pissed at the unfavourable news. Clearly he had expected Tsuna to still be there and he was less than pleased to hear that his sky had been sold.

"I'll let you take care of this. Go crazy" Akihito said before he continued his walk, jumping off the balcony to go to the backroom for the kidnapped victims and help them escape through the back as the building around them shook under the cloud guardian's wrath. Outside the back, the victims cowered together as Akihito watched the building go down. This wasn't mere displeasure at his sky disappearing, the blonde could tell. There was something else in this as well. He knew the raven had a violent streak, but his destruction was usually rather minimum, compared to the other guardians, especially Gokudera and Sasagawa.

However, the way the lone cloud stood in the midst of his destruction, his shoulders slumped and heaving, Akihito didn't see someone looking for their boss, but someone looking for someone they loved. This was not a cloud guardian who was angry for not finding his sky, but a man taking out his anger and his helplessness because he still hadn't found the person he wanted to protect. It wasn't obvious, but there was a difference. The slump to the raven's shoulders was one Akihito knew. It was dissatisfaction over the fact that even when he had worked his anger out, it would bring back the one they were looking for. Akihito knew he had looked the same after getting his revenge.

"Ne, Hibari, you" Akihito started as the young raven walked up to him, wiping under his nose with his sleeve.

"Do you love Tsuna?" the blonde mafioso asked as he allowed his staff to shrink again, seeing hard blue eyes settle on him before they turned away to look straight in front of him.

"He's a small animal. Small animals take on burdens way too heavy for them to carry. That's why they cry out for help" he said and turned his eyes down.

"But he doesn't. Even though he's weak, he's not. I want to beat him down" he said and Akihito looked up.

"You want him to rely on you, huh" he said, doubting anyone else would have been able to deduct that from the raven's words. Well, maybe Reborn would. Hibari just wanted to remind Tsuna that he's weak, but not alone, and that that was what made him strong. But he didn't have to strong all the time. It was okay to rely on others when you were weak. Hibari just wanted to be that person to Tsuna.

Akihito knew the feeling all too well. After all, he too wanted Asami to rely on him. Honestly, how troublesome. Was it something in their flames that made clouds so awkward and dishonest with their feelings? Was it because they were strong in battle, that they were weak in communicating? Because if that was so, it was a huge pain in the ass. But at the very least, Hibari seemed beyond the denial phase. A phase that had taken Akihito a while to get over, and he sometimes still reverted back whenever Asami pushed too hard to make him say it out-loud.

"Looks like we'll have to pay a visit to this Minami Benji guy to see who he worked for. Right after dropping these off at the police station and finding a suitable training ground where we can go crazy" Akihito said and smirked at the raven, completely changing the subject away from Hibari's feelings.

"Unless you're not up for a spar" he taunted and Hibari gave him a sharp look.

"Bring it. This time, I will not let you escape before you are bitten to death" he said and Akihito snorted before turning to the kidnapping victims to escort them to the police station, stealing some clothes from the restaurant's uniforms and ignoring the commotion that had been made with the earthquake that had shaken up the restaurant.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	6. Gamble

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and the OCs!

Enjoy!

* * *

Meetings. One of the horrid reasons why Akihito had run away from the entire mafia world. Honestly, the entire cliché-ness of it all made him want to tug his hair out. He wasn't even inside the room, yet he could already feel the smoke press on his chest. He could hear the chatter even as he only approached the door of the main meeting-room of the Vongola HQ. It was the only room large enough to accommodate every allianced mafia boss and one bodyguard.

Yet, their egos were suffocating the room more than the cigarette smoke.

Akihito heaved a sigh as he resisted the urge to straighten his burgundy blazer, instead keeping his hands in his pockets as he approached the busy meeting room. Behind him, Gokudera could barely keep his hands of his tie, a grimace pulling on his lips. Clearly the young guardian didn't hold meetings in high regard either.

"Will you be able to do it?" Akihito asked out of the blue, drawing Gokudera's attention away from his dark red tie knotted around his neck, under the collar of his grey button up.

"Able to do what?" he asked and Akihito looked back at the door looming up in front of them.

"Remain calm" he said because God knew that in the beginning, Akihito had been unable to sit out an entire meeting, making a grand exit with two raised birds and some choice-words that would make even sailors blush. He had been scolded for his behaviour often enough, but it took years before the blonde was able to stay inside until the end. Keeping his mouth shut had been something different entirely. He wondered what it would be for Gokudera, who was Tsunayoshi's number 1 fan-boy. Judging by the lack of answer, Gokudera wasn't making empty promises he was unsure he would be able to keep.

Akihito could appreciate this as he gave a nod at the mobster guarding the door, signalling the man to open the doors. Almost immediately, a cloud of smoke rolled from the room as if to welcome the two newcomers. Akihito steeled himself and straightened his spine as he walked inside, taking one hand from his pockets. Gokudera followed him into the room, looking around as a silence fell.

" _My goodness!_ _Would you look at what the cat dragged in!_ " a familiar voice called out in Italian as whispers broke out and sharp side-way glances were thrown at the blonde approaching the slightly smaller blonde.

" _It's been a while, hasn't it, Dino? Glad to see your stupid mug hasn't changed"_ Akihito answered, unable not to answer the loose grin on his old friend's face with one of his own. Both blondes moved in for a hug with a kiss on both cheeks before pulling back to look at each other. It had been a long time since Akihito had seen his friend and he was glad to see the other still alive. Dino Cavallone wouldn't be the first friend Akihito lost to the life of a mafioso.

" _Going flower power, huh?"_ Dino said good-humoured as he straightened the smaller blonde's black and white flower-patterned tie. Akihito swatted away his hands with a scoff and a sharp look.

" _Don't be jealous 'cause you can't pull it off"_ the shorter blonde said and Dino snorted.

" _Will you two shits sit down, before I make you"_ a grumpy, familiar voice cut in with a growl, earning the attention of the two blondes.

" _Don't mind him. He's in a bad mood"_ Lussuria said as he stood behind the Varia boss. Xanxus was glaring at them, sloshing whiskey around in the glass between his fingers.

" _What? Did they get the wrong whiskey? Regular fireball instead of fireball X"_ Akihito teased as he moved to take a seat next to the Varia boss, sitting in between him and the Cavallone boss. His lame jab earned a chuckled from the blonde boss while Xanxus looked tempted to whip out his guns at the smaller blonde.

" _No, it's not that. Squalo had a day off yesterday and he returned to headquarters late and smelling like cheap beer and even cheaper perfume"_ Lussuria disclosed, earning the full force of Xanxus's glare as Akihito laughed full out.

" _So Squalo got lucky? Are you sure he didn't just go for a drink and had a cheap whore give him tips to please a partner?"_ Dino asked and Akihito couldn't stop smirking at the raven glowering next to him.

" _Maybe you should suggest being a test subject? Good or bad, either way, you'll get something out of it"_ he said and Dino played in on it extremely well.

" _Unless you can't get it in first"_ he said and both blondes bit on their lip to muffle their laugh at the glare they received. Akihito reached out for one of the bottles of whiskey on the middle of the table, picking out his favoured one before pouring it into the tumbler in front of him. He was going to need alcohol to get through this. Especially when his eyes connected with surprised blue ones further down the table.

Great. Just what needed to be added to this shit storm of a meeting.

Akihito had been fully aware that the Arbatov bratva was allied to the Vongola familigia as one of the few non-flame user criminal organizations. During the whole kidnapping where he had been passed around like a dirty AV in high school, Akihito had had to play the role of innocent, overly-curious photographer that had become the victim of two crime-lords acting childish. Akihito had remained in his role to avoid having his identity exposed, because if Mikhail knew, so would Asami.

At least in that moment. Now, Akihito might have a chance of silencing the Russian crime-lord. To swear him to secrecy by the omerta so he couldn't let Asami know anything about his lover's real identity. In his position, Akihito had the right to hold the omerta over the Bratva leader. He would, but only if he had to. Maybe he could get by with just a few well-placed threats here and there to remind the mob-boss that Akihito out-ranked him.

A hum next to him drew him from his internal planning, glancing sideways to see Dino hold out the end of a cigar towards him in invitation. One Akihito took, wrapping his lips around the tip and allowing the taller blonde to light the other end while he poured Dino's glass.

" _Honestly, the clichéness of this all is almost amusing"_ Akihito said, letting the smoke roll past his lips.

" _You said it. But then again, it's likely so all of us will be able to sit through this bullshit without shooting anyone"_ Dino said and Akihito scoffed, leaning back in his chair and reaching up to take the cigar from between his lips.

" _Tell that to the hot-head next to me. I can already feel his irritation like a hearth and we haven't even started yet"_ Akihito said and Xanxus huffed.

" _Maybe that's a fucking sign that we should start. If that old geezer doesn't hurry the fuck up, I'm out of here"_ he said and Dino looked at him.

" _If you're going to Mama, I'm joining you. I'm missing Ria's company"_ he said and Xanxus grunted. It was only an answer for those who knew him, which included Akihito and Dino, who took no offence in the less than friendly or clear answer.

" _Count me out. If I'm going there, it's only for a drink. But maybe Gokudera here will finally be able to relax. Get the tension out of his shoulders a bit"_ Akihito said, earning a sharp look from the young storm guardian.

" _Are you suggesting I go to a whore-house to fuck my troubles away?"_ he sneered and Akihito waved it off.

" _Don't be so uptight, Gokudera. If you can't do it alone, try inviting Yamamoto. I get the feeling he'd be up for it"_ he said and Gokudera's reply was instantly.

" _He's too possessive for that"_ he said, earning a Cheshire smirk from the blonde whose chair he flanked. His answer drew the attention of the two other bosses and Lussuria as a blush coloured the silverette's pale cheeks.

" _A-at least that's what he told me"_ Gokudera tried to save himself, but nobody was buying it with the way his eyes shifted.

" _What kind of conversation were you having for Yama-chan to bring up how possessive he is in a relationship?"_ Lussuria asked amused and Gokudera's hand wrung uncomfortably.

" _He was dumped by his ex-girlfriend and he came to me for a drink. That's all. We're not like that. Please, me and the baseball-idiot? Don't make me laugh"_ the young guardian said defensive, earning a hum from the two blondes. Before they could continue on the subject to tease the storm, the doors opened for the big bad boss to be announced. As one, a cripple one, the mafia bosses rose from their chairs to silently great Timoteo and his storm guardian.

" _Sit"_ the old boss said, his voice pleasant but firm as he walked over to the large chair at the head of the table, allowing the bosses to sit down.

" _I'm glad you were all able to make"_ Timoteo said with a pointed look at both Xanxus and Akihito right next to him on his right side. Xanxus grunted as he averted his eyes to the table and Akihito dipped his head.

" _I called this meeting because many of you have heard the rumours and were growing restless. I'm here to confirm the rumours. Vongola's tenth boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi, has disappeared"_ Timoteo said, murmurs breaking out and causing a chaos that only grew louder. The other bosses clearly weren't happy with the news, though some were doing a bad job at hiding how pleased they were. Their voices grew louder as accusations were thrown around, each boss trying to set-up the other in order to rise in the rank and cause suspicion enough to have the other boss be thrown out. Akihito caught Gokudera's tense fists and Xanxus's twitching eyebrow and decided to step in.

" _Are you quite done now?"_ he asked, his icy voice shutting up everyone close to him and the others following because of their confusion, looking over at him as he pinned them in place with a sharp look.

" _Yelling accusations at each other like head-less chickens, how unsightly. If you're going to accuse someone, you better have some evidence, and not just 'He didn't like Decimo from the beginning' or 'his lip twitched when he heard Decimo's name was mentioned', because that's bullshit. If that was proof enough, Don De Grigorio, you would be suspected because you have never hidden your desire to take over the Vongola. Don Armata, you would be suspected because you've been wanting to stick you tiny, little prick up Decimo's ass ever since you first laid eyes on him. Don Del Caro, you would be suspected just because I really can't stand your mug and the way your eyes lit up at the opportunity to shut out the Russian bratva_ " Akihito said, picking out the three most suspicious ones to shut them up and making them sit down again.

" _Thank you, Akihito. I assume you have evidence, or else you wouldn't be here"_ Timoteo said with a friendly smile at the blonde who gave a nod, holding out his hand over his shoulder and feeling Gokudera put a manila folder in his palm.

" _I did some research and managed to find some solid leads on the identity of the master-mind. And it is none of you here, since you're all too stupid for it, so you can stop thinking to accuse anyone in this room"_ he said and placed his cigar between his lips to open the folder, ignoring the glares directed at him. He passed the folder to Timoteo before starting to explain the results of his research.

" _It's not much yet"_ Akihito finished and Timoteo shook his head.

" _It's more than enough, for now. Everyone will keep an eye out for rumours and anything connected to the Yasuo-gumi, who hired Minami Benji to buy our Decimo. Every information you find, goes straight to Akihito"_ the old boss said and Akihito scoffed.

" _It would help me more if they did nothing at all. Dumb oafs always fuck things up"_ he muttered, only loud enough for Xanxus and Dino to hear, earning a snort. Everyone was dismissed after it, with Timoteo leaving first. Akihito remained seated as he noticed a familiar face walk up to him.

"How peculiar for us to meet again here, Mikhail Arbatov" Akihito said once the Russian mob-boss was close enough to hear him, switching over to English.

"Indeed. I never expected to see you here. I doubt Asami is aware of this" Mikhail said and Akihito scoffed.

"You think that guy will allow me out of the house if he knew?" he asked and Mikhail gave a wry smile.

"Truly, a ball and chain, that one. I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you the first time we met. I had no idea you were" he started, not sure how to finish what he started.

"A mafioso? A flame-user? Your superior?" Akihito suggested with a raised eyebrow and noticed the twitch in the foreigner's hand. His eyes glanced over at Yuri standing behind his boss, glaring at him, before they turned back to Mikhail.

"It doesn't matter what I am, as long as you know I'm not a grudge holding person. You like to gamble, right? Why don't we settle this with a little bet?" Akihito asked and Dino stood up to allow Mikhail to take a seat, ignoring his surprise at the cloud's suggestion.

"I have to warn you, I'm very good at gambling" Mikhail said as he sat down, earning a smile from Akihito.

"Let's hope it for you. Romario, can I trouble you for a revolver? How about we play a game of Russian roulette?" Akihito asked, first directing himself to Dino's right-hand man and then back to Mikhail, who raised an eyebrow at him. Clearly, he didn't believe Akihito would have the heart to play a game that dangerous. But that was the Akihito he had known during the time he had been held hostage, not the one whispering into Romario's ear.

"The rules are simple. This gun holds five bullets, one chamber empty. It's self-explanatory, really. You pull the trigger and if you live, all is forgotten. If you don't, it means I didn't forgive you. Simple, right?" Akihito said and Mikhail looked at the revolver presented to him. The others watched as Mikhail lifted the revolver and placed it against his temple with a confident smile, that was answered by Akihito's own, their eyes locked. Mikhail took a deep breath before he pulled the trigger and a click resounded.

"You should really make this gamble a bit more fun" Mikhail said as he laid the hilt of the revolver in Akihito's hand, obviously not believing Akihito would be capable of killing anyone, especially not in a bet. His eyes widened in shock and his face paled as Akihito aimed the revolver at the opposite wall, pulling the trigger. Once, twice, trice, four times, five times. The blonde held the gun up, ignoring the smoke that rolled from the barrel of the revolver and the wall that crumbled around the bullets that had embedded itself into the surface.

"I guess you could say you're lucky" Akihito chuckled and handed the revolver back to Romario.

"But as promised, with this, everything is forgiven and forgotten" he said and Mikhail released a shaky breath, his face still not regaining any colour as he ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"And here I thought you were a nice person" he said, prompting a laugh from the others that had stayed behind. Lussuria and Xanxus laughed loudest, while even Romario was unable to cut back a chuckle.

"This trash 'nice'? Maybe in his free time!" Xanxus laughed and Dino shook his head.

"You're lucky you met Akihito Takaba, and not Akihito Falconeria, the honey viper. If you had been a flame-users, you would have been dead already" the blonde said and Akihito stood up from his chair.

"Anyway, we're going to Mama's now. Hopefully get this kid to relax a bit" Akihito said and Gokudera made a noise.

"I don't plan on fucking a whore" he snapped and Dino smiled at him.

"Then just take a few drinks. We know why we're going to Mama's, so just keep your mouth shut and your ears open" he said, not unfriendly, and Gokudera frowned.

"You're going to a brothel for information?" he guessed and Akihito looked at him.

"No. We're going there to get some time to wind down. If anyone says something, that's just a bonus" he said and Mikhail raised an eyebrow at Akihito.

"You sure you should be fucking a whore? Asami won't like that" he said and Akihito rolled with his eyes.

"I don't plan on fucking anyone, Mikhail" he said and Lussuria leaned forward on Akihito's shoulder.

"You've been mentioning a certain Asami since before. Who are you talking about?" he asked and Mikhail looked at him, standing up when he finally got back the feeling in his legs as they stopped shaking.

"Akihito's lover. He's a kingpin in Japan" he said and Akihito grimaced at the looks he gained. Xanxus was the first one to start laughing, a few chuckles before it turned into a deep belly laugh. Honestly, it was disturbing how much Xanxus was laughing that night.

"This honey trap?! The same trash who has fucked over a hundred women, made more than half of them divorce their husband before telling them that he was only interested in sex, has a male lover?! Priceless! That shark needs to hear this! The man-whore of the famiglia has a male lover!" he laughed loudly and Akihito send him a glare.

"Could you not call me a man-whore" he said, but was ignored as Dino laid his hand on Mikhail's shoulder.

"You need to tell us more about this. Everything you know" he said and Akihito grimaced. Did he really count those two as friends, or should he add them to his body-count? Because of their long friendship, he'd go easy on them and give them a quick death. A bullet to the head should do it, nicely placed in the middle of their foreheads.

"I heard some interesting rumours about a three-some with Fei-long" Mikhail said and Akihito's eyebrow twitched.

"Don't talk about that. You'll spoil their interest in Ria" the blonde tried to plead Mikhail into silence but none of them were having it. There was no way they would pass up the chance of getting some blackmail material on the blonde.

"This is much more interesting than Ria" Dino said as he ushered Mikhail towards the door with Xanxus on their heels. Akihito groaned as he let his head fall forward.

"It's okay, sweetie. They'll lose interest soon enough" Lussuria said and Akihito raised an eyebrow at him, making him doubt.

"Okay, maybe they won't" the sun guardian said and Akihito shook his head as they started walking to catch up with the others that had gone before them.

"They'll never let me live it down once they find out Asami is into SM and has a secret room" he said and Gokudera frowned.

"Doesn't that hurt?" he asked and Akihito looked back at him.

"Most of it skims the border between painful and pleasurable, but as long as you set up rules, it feels good- wait, like hell I am talking about this with someone who can't even accept the fact that it feels pleasant to finger himself to thoughts of the rain guardian" Akihito snapped, prompting Gokudera's face to turn bright red.

"I don't do that!" he snapped and Akihito scoffed.

"Don't try to lie to me about that, kid. I know how someone walks when they've stimulated their ass when they're not used to it yet. The first time I took it up the ass, I wasn't even able to walk, so you're lucky you're already preparing yourself" he said and Gokudera sputtered to find a way to deny his embarrassment. Akihito ignored it as he pushed his hands in his pockets.

He wanted to return to Tokyo already, unashamed to admit that he was missing his lover and not only in bed. They had a good lead on Tsuna's kidnapper and his location would follow soon as well. The sooner Tsuna was found, the sooner Akihito could return to Tokyo. He'd have to deal with a sex-deprived Asami and his punishment for disappearing so long, but he'd gladly take it, compared to the absence of any touch he was currently experiencing. Honestly, Xanxus was not wrong. How far had he fallen that he, who had broken up countless households because he had seduced the wives, would settle down with a man.

But currently, finding Tsuna had priority over his life outside the mafia. His cousin was waiting for them to reach out their hand and help him escape. Thinking about something as distracting as his relationship with Asami would only slow them down. Every second they were slowed, was a minute longer that Tsuna was in danger. A danger unknown to them until they had a lock-on on the culprit. That was Akihito's job and the only thing that his attention should be focussed on.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	7. Chained

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and the OCs!

PS : Tsuna POV!

Please enjoy.

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A soft, pained groan resounded in a large room that echoed, making the small sound seem countless times louder than it actually was. A headache felt like it was trying to split apart his brainpan from the inside out, and Tsuna didn't think he'd ever get rid of it. First, there were his lessons with Reborn, who constantly attacked him, physically or with questions about things he had never even heard of, only to come back to the physical attacking when he got the answer wrong.

Secondly, there was the hangover he had gotten after spending the night at Kokuyo, though it hadn't been only a headache back then. Too much alcohol had been consumed and some bad decision had been made under the influence of the cheap alcohol. What had greeted him the next morning had been the mother of all hangovers, rays of sun filtering through the torn curtains and a naked body next to his own equally bare form. And finally, his walk of shame straight into a kidnapping.

He, Sawada Tsunayoshi, so-called Vongola Demico -or Neo primo, whatever they wanted to call him, didn't change the fact that he was mafioso- was kidnapped on his way home from a nightly excursion to one of his guardians.

How embarrassing.

He really should have gotten better than to let his guard down enough to get kidnapped. Reborn would have his ass over this and Tsuna wondered where the training-camp-of-hell would be going to this time. Maybe the Sahara Desert? He wouldn't put it past the hitman to do so and he was not looking forward to finding sand down his butt-crack. Maybe if he returned soon enough with information about the kidnappers, the destination would be closer to home and a bit more forgiving.

Or he could be send to Alaska or something. That was a possibility as well. One that seemed more realistic than Reborn going easy on him. He'd get send to Alaska on top of the desert for merely thinking of the possibility. Please, Reborn going easy on anyone when it could be mistaken as doing something half-assed? But then again, part of Tsuna seriously suspected the hitman to be so harsh on him on purpose, drawing some kind of sadistic amusement from his reactions.

He wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. After everything they've been through, Reborn having a sadistic humour was hardly surprising. In fact, it was pretty well-known. Tsuna could practically hear the hitman laugh in the back of his head for the situation he had gotten himself into, adding to the headache that was already there, feeling like a professional bartender was attempting to make a cocktail of his brain. He wouldn't need to shake long, consider his mind was already pretty much mush. The only thing keeping him conscious was his heightened intuiting and he knew it.

He was tempted to laugh along with the imaginary Reborn his mind had conjured up.

It didn't matter that there was a legit reason for his kidnappers to succeed in taking him. The pain in his hips had been part of it, courtesy of Mukuro and the alcohol they had consumed. But for the most part, it had been the fact that they had been non-flame users. When faced with them, Tsuna's chances of winning a fight went down by 20%, embarrassingly enough. But to his defence, it had already gotten much better. If he had been any younger and less experienced, his chances would have gone down with 70%. He was aware he had to thank Hibari for the raise in his chances to win against non-flame users.

Still, the pain in his hips, the hangover and the lack of sleep paired with the nature and number of his opponents, it was not really a wonder Tsuna had gotten overwhelmed. 10 to 1 is hardly fair in any normal circumstances, but to face those odds when he was still drunk from the uncanny amount of alcohol he had consumed and sore from his unexpected nightly activities.

God, he was so good at making excuses.

Nothing was going to change if he remained how he was and Tsuna was painfully aware of this. He couldn't just lay there, doing nothing. He had long since accepted his position in the underworld. Not voluntarily, mind you, but accepted none the less. He needed to get himself together, escape and return to Italy, or at least Namimori. By now, his guardians would be in panic, trying to find him and who kidnapped him. Old man Timoteo would be worried and send people after him, which would stir up the underworld.

Tsuna might have accepted the fact that he was a mafioso and couldn't turn away from that, but the last thing he wanted was to draw this much attention before he inherited. He had succeeded up until now, and he wasn't planning on drawing any more attention than saying his name already did. There was no way his kidnappers didn't know who he was, so their target must be the famiglia. Be it his famglia with his guardians, or the entire Vongola famiglia, didn't make a difference. They were inseparable and to target one of them was inexcusable.

Tsuna was fine with being the sole target, as long as it kept those who had nothing to do with it safe. And although his Famiglia was a shield for this exact same purpose, a beacon of light attracting moths, Tsuna had a hard time with accepting the fact that his famiglia was targeted instead of him alone. He knew his guardians were strong, but he couldn't help but worry about them. They were more than just friends to Tsuna, and as their sky, he felt that he was entitled to worrying about their health and safety. They certainly wouldn't, so who else was going to do it?

As he moved to sit up, he could hear chains rattling behind him as they shifted around his throat, ankles and wrists. The chains were attached to the wall behind him in a way that allowed space to move about, but not further than a few steps in each direction. Tsuna didn't know whether to be impressed or disappointed. At least his kidnapers were smarter than to chain his wrists together without bolting it to the wall, but that wasn't going to help him escape.

With a soft sigh, he crossed his legs before closing his eyes to meditate. Or at least as good as one could possibly meditate in a situation like this. As long as he could feel his inner flame flickering inside him and streaming through his veins, he would conclude his meditation a success. A frown pulled his eyebrows together as he could indeed feel his flames but was unable to draw them to the surface, as if there was an invisible blanket all over his body, preventing him from calling up his flames. It left a foul taste in his mouth and an unsettled feeling in his stomach.

He was seriously tempted to track down every shitty little flame suppressant pill and burn it until not even ashes remained.

"I'm never drinking again" the young mafioso muttered as he begrudgingly opened his eyes to brave the TL-lights that lit up the space he was kept in like an exotic animal. Only a cage was missing. Tsuna didn't doubt a cage would fit into the space around him, which was rather large for a basement. There was no furnishing except the small round table folding table with white plastic chairs around it, standing a few steps out of what he presumed to be his reach. If they were smart enough to bind him to the wall and take away his ability to burn through them, he doubted they would be stupid enough to keep the place where they sat within kicking range.

He perked up as he heard a door open before footsteps and voices descended from the stairs, into the basement. The smell of what was without a doubt food filled the space, making Tsuna's stomach complain about its empty state. It was a natural reaction of his body, yet Tsuna was inwardly embarrassed. If he had been any younger, the sound would have made his face burn bright red to the point people would suspect him to be related to tomatoes. Thank god he grew up, because blushing that red was even more embarrassing that his stomach rumbling.

"Hij 's wakker" a voice said and Tsuna frowned at the foreign language, trying to place from which country it was. But then again, it was a miracle he was able to get by in Italian and English, so he wasn't counting much on his own ability to recognize foreign languages.

Wow. That thought just really upped his confidence. Exactly what he needed in this situation. It seemed no matter how much he grew, part of him would still remain Dame-Tsuna. He blinked as a white package was placed on the ground in front of him, grease spots tainting the paper.

"Eat" the man said and Tsuna looked up at him with a distrustful eye. The man didn't look like one of them, but then again, Tsuna was the last person who should someone on appearance. The man looked to be in his mid-twenties, well-groomed and likely popular with the female population. He didn't look like a mafioso, judging by his tense shoulders, his shifty eyes and the nervous tone to his voice as he spoke in a smooth English.

The other two looked a little more to what Tsuna believed to be stereotypical thugs as they sat down on the plastic chairs. One of them was bald and fat, and then he was trying not to be rude. The third man was older, streaks of grey breaking up his brown hair and a scar on the corner of his lip. The look in their eyes was just as uncomfortable as the youngest male, leading Tsuna to believe that they were just in-between people, hired to keep him secure before they would transport him.

It wouldn't be the first pit-stop he would have made during his kidnapping. The first one had been at Chinatown in Yokohama, but he hadn't stayed there for long. He had been at an auction, one he had almost burned down but he had been knocked out before he could try to call up his flames. This was his second stop, and he had been awake most of the trip. But being in the storage space of a plane didn't give much opportunity to find out where he was going. He would just need to figure that out now.

"What is it?" Tsuna asked suspicious as the younger man sat down at the dingy table. The young mafioso figured he'd address the one who looked the most nervous, hoping he'd get more answers out of that one.

"Fries. The real ones instead of the crappy ones they serve everywhere else" the young man said and Tsuna's face remained blank, stomping down the automatic reaction to narrow his eyes. So, they were in Belgium. From Yokohama to Belgium and then to where? Had they taken Belgium as a stop on their way or had they specifically chosen the country as a diversion to put the Vongola on a false trail?

Tsuna put the thought aside, deciding to think about it later, when he wasn't being watched. First, he would need to eat. if he didn't have his flames, energy was a must. He unwrapped the thick paper and spread it open, looking at the carton tub overflowing with thick, greasy fries, a separate tub of mayonnaise and what looked to be a sausage. Likely what they called a 'frikandel'. Tsuna only knew this because of a fellow student in his language class was of Belgian origins.

Cautious and curious, he took a bite of the sausage. The taste wasn't bad, but it wasn't extremely good either. A little better than edible. But Tsuna didn't have the freedom to be picky if he wanted more information. If he went along without complaint, the men would relax around him, meaning their tongues would get looser. The last thing Tsuna wanted to do was annoy them. Besides, the fries and mayonnaise were true saviours. McDonalds had nothing on this.

The men took turns to guard him, always keeping one man down with him as Tsuna contemplated how he had changed and how he could get out of this situation. In the years that had passed after he received his sky ring, he had gotten slyer, something he disliked as much as it saved him. He had gotten a good feel on when to ask what in order to get the most information out of a person without torturing them.

The young man was too nervous to talk to him more than a few words before demanding him to shut up. Tsuna saw that the stress of keeping a person hostage was getting to him, but his greed for money overpowered his morals. The scarred man spoke no English but French and Tsuna cursed the fact that he had half-assed his French-classes and spoke but barely a few sentences, not enough to get the information he wanted. It was the heavy-weighed man that had been the easy target.

The man had offered him a cigarette, which Tsuna had accepted, making a humourless joke about missing some alcohol, which had amused the man. The jokes caused him to relax as they smoked and Tsuna tried not to show his disgust at the taste of nicotine filling his lungs. But the relaxed atmosphere his jokes had created, gave him the opportunity to ask subtle questions within his jokes.

"I don't understand what they want with a kid" the man had said and Tsuna had the decency to grimace. Freshman at college and he was still mistaken for a middle-schooler. He had grown taller and he had lost his baby-fat! How could they still think of him as a child?!

"Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. I didn't think I made any enemies, but it seems I'll need to rethink that" he said with a sigh and the man scoffed. Tsuna almost did as well, though likely for a different reason, since he had found out they had no idea of his mafia back-ground.

"Maybe it's not an enemy, but an admirer going too far" he suggested and Tsuna chuckled short as he closed his eyes.

"Going way too far, if you ask me. I can't even remember ever having an admirer. I probably had more enemies" he said and he mulled over the idea. The only admirer he remembered having that had been a bit stalker-ish, had been Haru. But she had gotten over her delusions and now was a good friend. Usually, it was her who was Tsuna's drinking buddy as they bowed over their glasses to wail over their one-sided crushes.

But Haru had gotten together with Kyouko, making her crush required. Tsuna hadn't wanted to dampen her happiness, thus he had gone for a drink on his own. There he had met Mukuro, had bitten though the chills he got in the mist guardian's presence and had shared a drink with him. Had shared enough drinks to make going to Kokuyo for a continuation seem like a good idea. And there he had consumed enough alcohol to not only tell Mukuro everything, but also to find it a great idea to sleep with the mist guardian, his crush's rival.

Alcohol was terrifying.

"Looks like it's time for you to go" The heavy-weighed man said as he looked on his cellphone.

"The toilet?" Tsuna asked grimly amused, earning a barked laugh.

"Sorry, kiddo. Your end destination is still a long plane flight away, but I'm sure they can wait for you to take a piss" he said and walked over to the brunet to undo his chains, removing them from the structure against the wall, yet keeping them around the brunet's limbs. He escorted Tsuna to the toilet up the stairs before pulling a cap over his head.

Tsuna recognized the moment he was handed over to the ones who had hired the three Belgian men by the rough way he was handled. He was shoved in the trunk of a car, so hard the impact of his head hitting the floor of the car was audible and caused small sparkles to appear in the darkness in front of his eyes. And to think his headache had just been residing. Great.

"Careful. Don't damage the goods" one of the men said, his voice gruff but clearly comfortable talking English. A native, likely.

"That bitch will probably be glad she'll have an excuse to take care of him" another voice said, a lot smoother than the third one that spoke up immediately after, sounding like someone who had smoked one pack too many.

"Cut it out. I don't want to remember that dog" he said, the end of his sentence muffled by the trunk of the car closing. Tsuna frowned at the tad-bit of conversation he had heard. They had referred to a woman, someone who wanted to take care of him. Had the heavy-weighed man guessed correctly? And what was that about that dog? The man didn't sound too happy talking about it, reminding the young mafioso of himself and the way he used to talk about Mukuro back in middle school, when he had been scared shitless of his mist.

He wasn't getting any good vibes from this and his intuition wasn't exactly helping, raising flags all over his mind. Yet that which he searched for, kept slipping through his fingers like sand, hints of things he was unable to recall sticking to his fingers like tiny grains of sand. Yet every time he tried to take a closer look at them, they blew away. It was maddening to feel as if he knew something, yet he was unable to recognize it.

Tsuna gritted his teeth as the car took a bump, throwing him against the back of the back-seat, wondering when the flame suppressant would be worked out so he could attempt to burn through the chains wrapped around him. The fact that the people who had ordered the kidnapping had gotten their hands on these suppressants, meant that they were pretty high up in their world, or had a lot of knowledge, at the very least. That meant that this was planned for a while, since the suppressants were hard to get by and took time to get delivered.

But Tsuna knew not one single female person that had that kind of influence. The fact that the men had said that she wanted to take care of him, implied that she knew him, yet he wasn't able to recall her. He was sure it wasn't Haru, because he had asked her. He had hated to do it, but after a few days of feeling like he was being watched, he had asked the brunette. She had been worried once he explained it to her why he had asked it despite knowing her feelings weren't directed at him anymore.

Tsuna knew a few girls who had confessed to being interested in him and he could count them on two hands. In high school, there had been three girls who had called him out to confess to him, and there had been four more in the months he had spent in college. But he had rejected them all because his own feelings didn't extend to them but to someone else. To his very own cloud guardian. Whenever he though back to those confessions, he could always recall seeing Hibari in the corner of his eye, be it on top of the rooftop entrance or the hallway of the school.

Don't get him wrong, he hadn't been gay from the beginning. He had only noticed his feelings when it was too late and when he was already staring at the raven as he pulled off his shirt to continue one of their many spars. It was those spars that had caused them to grow together, forcing them to talk more and to spend more time in each other's company. The first time they had sparred, Hibari had been pissed for some reason and Tsuna saw him threatening to boil over, snapping at the students in Namimori high's hallways.

He had decided it would be better to have the raven take it out on him before they would have to deal with a rule-breaker that was knocked into a coma or, worst case scenario -but certainly not unimaginable-, a corpse to burry. Hibari had easily accepted the invitation, and despite the tremble in Tsuna's hands at the fact that he might have signed his own death sentence, he had been able to keep up with the cloud guardian. It had sapped all his flames and energy, though, but Hibari had thanked him, which had instantly replenished him enough to give his cloud a wide grin.

They had continued this, inviting each other when they noticed the other's temper flare, because believe it or not, even Tsuna got pissed at times. Over time, their spars had become something reoccurring, regularly meeting up every other day to spar and compare notes. Tsuna didn't know when his feelings started to develop for the raven and he would never be able to answer the question if asked, but he could clearly remember every rare smile the violent cloud had graced him with and how it had made his heart jump every time.

The car stopped, jarring the brunet from his trip through memory lane, recalling the way Hibari had laid down in the grass with a smile, contrasting the destruction around him. Tsuna was dragged from the trunk, the chains rattling as he stumbled clumsily. He heard the men grumble as he was brought to what was likely to be the cargo space of a private jet, where he was chained to the curved wall.

" _The honey viper is looking for you with your guardians"_ Tsuna heard a soft voice say in rough Japanese, sending a chill down Tsuna's spine and not because of the chain-smoker's voice. The corners of his lips curled up under the hood in what was likely an excited smirk, one that was likely too dark to fit on his face. Yet he couldn't help it. Not only were his guardians looking for him, his cousin was heling them and had been able to sneak someone close enough to inform him! That only meant they were on his trail and that his plans didn't have to be as cautious as they had to be when he was alone. His famiglia was closing in and he would like to greet them mid-way.

" _This is as far as I go, Decimo"_ the man informed but that was okay. he had done more than enough. Tsuna struggled to push down his adrenaline as he heard the man leave, closing the cargo space behind him. It wouldn't do to get too excited and show his guards that there was something happening. It would put them on edge and they would expect something to happen. Though, whether or not they expected something, it wouldn't change the fact that they were screwed. Tsuna hardly saw a way for someone to stop his guardians when they were led by his cousin.

It would really be incredibly embarrassing for him, as their future boss, if he was unable to meet them half-way. But to do that, he would need to find out who was the mastermind behind his kidnapping. He would need to make a mental list with women he knew -which was longer than he expected- and see which one of them fit the criteria. Which one of them had the needed connections to organize the kidnapping of a big-fish Mafioso. Tsuna didn't think of himself as a lead figure in the underworld, but he had to begrudgingly admit that his tittle was. By naming his tittle alone, the underworld community would stir.

The question was, who wanted to do so and for what reason? What was the goal and what could Tsuna do to prevent them from reaching that goal? But that were questions that could only be answered once Tsuna was confronted with the one who pulled the string. Pushing his apprehension and uneasy to the back of his psyche, the young mafioso looked forward to meeting his kidnapper. The sooner he met them, the sooner he could go back to Namimori.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	8. Dream

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and its OCs!

PS :: Asami POV.

Please enjoy!

* * *

Asami wasn't angry. Disappointed? Yes, but not angry. Akihito disappeared quite often and he had already gotten used to it. But this time, it was quite for a long time. He had received texts from his lover, letting him know that he was alive, at the very least. It might not be much, but it was something. It was enough to pacify Asami's worry about his lover's condition. Kirishima had suggested to track him down, just to be sure because they both were painfully aware of the troubles the blonde was able to get into. Both of them had the scars to prove it. Asami from his shot-wounds delivered to him by Fei-long when he had kidnapped Akihito to Hong Kong, and Kirishima who took a bullet for the blonde when the exchange was made between him and Yuri. But Asami didn't think the blonde had gotten into too much trouble, considering no ransom had been demanded yet. And that had to mean something, right?

Besides, Asami was assured that Akihito would return to him, like a cat coming home to be fed and have his stomach patted. That knowledge made it possible for the crime-lord to put his worries aside and continue working. In fact, with nobody waiting for him at home, Asami could work until the early hours, finishing his boring office jobs a lot faster than before, which gave him a bit of free-time. Time to go and have a drink with an old friend in the same branch.

It had been some time since Asami had gone out for a drink, finding it much more comfortable to be at home with his lover. As he stepped into the club, he noticed that it had hardly changed. Except for a bit more modern touches and a few new faces behind the bar and walking around, everything had remained the same classic, English style. It was somewhat comforting as he walked further inside, easily finding his old friend on the second floor.

"Ryuichi!" the man said with a smile as he stood up from his arm-chair to greet the raven. Asami answered the smile with a tiny one of his own, which was more than he would give anyone else.

"Genji" Asami greeted the man as he shook his hand before sitting down in the arm-chair across from him.

"Has the wife finally let you?" the brunet club-owner asked and Asami huffed amused as he lit up a cigarette.

"The wife is away from home for work" he said and the other man laughed.

"So you finally did settle down. It was about time" he said and signed over a waitress to deliver them some drinks. It was in the middle of their second dink that one of the waiters tapped Genji on the shoulder.

"Sir, my apologies to disturb you, but three young men requested you. They intruded into your office before we could stop them" the bartender said and Genji frowned.

"How can you not three young men? What did they look like?" he asked and the bartender regarded his boss.

"Around twenty years old. One had short white hair and bandaged hands. The second one had messy black hair and a mean look in his eyes. And the third one as blonde and he was very… pretty" he said and seemed to blush at the last word, clearing his throat.

"All three of them were wearing high-quality suits. One of them seemed to fit the description of the one who destroyed the restaurant in Yokohama" he said and almost instantly, the colour fled from Genji's face while Asami got curious. The restaurant that had been completely demolished had been grand news in Tokyo, especially considering the underground rumours spoke about a single person taking the entire thing down.

"R-Ryuchi, if you don't mind excusing me for a bit" Genji said as he moved to stand up.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to come with" Asami said, though his words left no room for denial. Genji swallowed thickly before giving a nod and leading the way to his office.

"You do have your gun, right?" he asked as he paused in front of the door, shooting a look back at him that contradicted his feeble attempt at a joke. But then again, Asami didn't leave his house without his gun. As he opened the door to step into the room, Asami saw three men standing spread inside the office, all three fitting the description the bartender had given them, including their young age. Only two of them looked up.

Leaning against the desk was the white haired young man, dressed in a dark maroon suit with a lighter burgundy button up with black pinstripes. A petrol blue tie was knotted around his collar while his hands were bandaged like a boxer, a thin bandage across the bridge of his nose.

The raven standing in front of the hip-high decoration table against the wall, had indeed a mean look in his eyes, even if his face was pretty. His form was dressed in a black pin-stripe suit with light green button up shirt and white tie. Compared to the white-haired man's muscular build, the raven had a leaner build to it that reminded Asami of his lover. But that was ignored for the person sitting on the arm-rest of the sofa in front of the desk, his back to them.

The blonde hair made Asami chest ache, the colour, length and texture reminding him of his lover. Slim, yet well build shoulders were clad in a dark green, almost black suit, the collar of the Brisbane bamboo button up shirt peeking over the rim of the blazer. Asami wanted the blonde to turn around, but he didn't, not even when the door closed behind the raven.

"Would you mind giving me your names and an explanation as to why you are here?" Genji demanded and a soft, amused snort resounded that had Asami's spine tense for a different reason that Genji's did.

"Judging by the tremble in your voice, I doubt that's necessary. Why don't you take a seat before you faint?" the blonde said, making Asami's heart jump into his throat and the blood shoot southward like a conditioned reflex. There was no way he would ever mistake that voice, even if it sounded slightly different. Confident as hell and smooth as sin, dripping in honey. Well, wasn't this interesting?

"I won't faint. Who do you think you are?" Genji snapped, yet the blonde still refused to turn around or look up;

"The one planting a bullet between your eyes if you don't sit your fat ass down within three seconds. Because you're fat and slow, I'll make it five. Aren't I fucking generous" the blonde sneered and Genji gulped, his earlier confidence instantly gone at the threatening tone to the blonde's voice.

"I wouldn't test him too much if I were you. He's extremely touchy today" the white-haired young man said and the raven followed up perfectly.

"I believe it's called sex-deprived" he said but the blonde seemed to find humour in it.

"Yes, and in a few minutes, it will be called homicidal because that pig still isn't sitting down" he said and Genji scrambled to sit down while remaining an ounce of dignity. He wasn't exactly succeeding. It was an extremely rare sight for Asami, considering Genji was one of the most refined, confident men he knew. He was hardly intimidated by anything. Yet here he was, practically trembling in his boots as the blonde turned his head to look at him, leaving Asami no doubt about who he was at the sight of his profile.

Akihito was ignoring him, however, pinning the brunet down with an almost bored stare. It had been a long time since Asami had seen his lover, his fingers tingling with the need to comb them through Akihito's half pushed-back hair before ripping the suit off his body. But he held back, feeling an iron blue gaze size him up suspiciously.

"Who's that?" the young raven asked and Akihito didn't even glance his way.

"No-one you need to concern yourself with. I know who he is" the blonde said, his statement tensing up Genji, who joined the two youngest in the room with staring at Asami standing next to the door.

"Now, Genji, the sooner you answer our questions, the sooner we can both move on with our daily lives. If you don't, I have no problem using violence, but it always tends to be messy and Dino will kill me if I ruin this suit he bought me because he felt bad for missing my previous birthday" Akihito said and Genji's eyes shifted from Asami to the blonde.

"Y-You're Takaba Akihito? Ryuichi's woman?" he guessed and Akihito closed his eyes as he tilted his head slightly.

"It's the second time I've heard that and hearing it again really doesn't make me want to hit you any less, so unless you want me to turn to a more hands-on approach, I suggest you don't call me that anymore. I might make a woman out of you to explain the difference between the two genders" he said lazily, a tone Asami was used from him but not combined with making bloody threats. However, his message seemed to get through to Genji who gulped. The crime-lord wondered what the brunet had done and where his lover had disappeared to, to return like this.

"Now, since you're already aware of why we are here, it will be so much faster if you could just tell us what we want to know before Kyoya is at the end of his patience. I don't feel the need to stop him if he would, because Ryohei is here to patch you up anyway, so why bother" Akihito said and Asami narrowed his eyes at the blonde, wondering what this was about but figuring he'd get more answers if he remained silent. To his surprise, Genji spat at the blonde, grimacing at him all the while.

"How dare you threaten me, boy? I don't care whether you're Ryuichi's little pet. I've been in this business for longer than you. If you think you can come to my turf and threaten me about some little weak kid whose only worth is being sold at an auction like a whore-" Genji started and rose from his seat in anger before he was cut off violently by a tonfa slamming into his stomach. Akihito raised an eyebrow as he watched a second hit impact with the older man's temple.

"It really is a bad idea to insult him in front of Kyoya" he said as if he wasn't watching someone beating up a person in front of him. The white haired young man had a grim expression despite his nod in agreement.

"Indeed, that was a bad move to make. He sought it himself" he said and Asami frowned, feeling uncomfortable about the scene in front of him. He wondered what had happened to his lover for him to be comfortable, looking almost bored at the blood-splatters tainting the younger raven's face and the pleas for mercy coming from Genji, all going unheard. It was probably because he was unaware of the reason behind the situation that he was able to step in, worried for his old friend's life.

"That's enough" he said as he took a step forward, drawing the attention to himself for the first time after Akihito's statement. A chill rolled down his spine as the raven turned his glare at him before pushing off. Asami had barely lifted his hand towards his gun underneath his blazer when Akihito stood before him, the thwack of the tonfa connecting with the palm of his hand loud in the otherwise silent room.

"Don't, Kyoya. He's a non-user uninvolved with this. You can't touch him by the omerta" the blonde said, his voice cold enough to chill the room, yet the young raven hardly seemed intimidated, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't have an omerta" he said and yet Akihito was immovable like a rock.

"Look at your hand. That is your omerta right there and you better stick to it. You're of no use to Tsuna if you're dead. I'll play with you as much as you want after this, so for now, calm your anger and back off. He's mine" he said, almost growling the last part, causing possessiveness to stir in Asami's gut as he resisted the urge to curl his arms around his lover's waist and pull him back against his chest. A few tense moments filled with a stare-off and pained groans passed before the younger raven took a step back, lowering his bloody tonfa.

"Ryohei, can you make him able to talk again, I doubt he'd be stubborn after Kyoya went loose on him. He's already crying and pissing his pants anyway" the blonde said as he lowered his hand. Asami was pretty sure he had heard something snap, yet Akihito's face or body-language showed nothing.

"On it" the white haired young man said as he walked up to Genji, who was lying on the floor in front of the sofa, whimpering in pain. Asami's eyes widened as he saw sparks flicker around the white haired man's hand before a flame burst into life, gloving his hand. Genji scrambled back into the sofa as the flame approached his face.

"It won't hurt" the young man said, though there was no kindness in his eyes nor voice, merely a businesslike coldness. The same look was found in the young raven and Akihito. They weren't worried about Genji's condition, but about whether or not they would get his answers or not. It was something Asami recognized in himself whenever he was dealing with someone who opposed him. It unnerved the crime-lord as much as it turned him on. A strange combination, indeed.

"Akihito" Asami said, soft enough so only Akihito would hear him, yet the blonde didn't turn around. He did acknowledge his lover with a hum, even when his eyes remained on Genji.

"I'm going to need an explanation" Asami said calmly and felt fingers brush the back of his hand before they curled around his fingers, the touch sending an electric current up his arm.

"I know. But not now" Akihito said in a voice just as soft before releasing the raven's hand.

"Now I need to find out which stupid fuck decided to mess with my family" he said, his voice once again cold as he stepped forward. The pale-haired young man stood up while the young raven stepped up next to Akihito's other side, all three of them looking down on Genji.

"Let's hear what you have to say" he said and Genji whimpered.

"I'll make it easier for you. Who paid you to kidnap my cousin?" Akihito asked as he narrowed his eyes. Genji's eyes shot to Asami for help, but the crime-lord wasn't inclined to do so, knowing how important family was to Akihito. If Genji really had something to do with the kidnapping of his lover's cousin, Asami had no place to interfere.

"I-I don't know for sure. They said their name was Mike Dawson, but it could be an alias" the brunet stuttered and Akihito regarded him.

"Description?" he asked and Genji shook his head.

"I never met him in person. I'm sorry. Please, spare me. I only got paid to get him on the plane after they passed him to me" he said and the raven spoke up this time.

"Where did you send him to?" he asked and Genji looked at him.

"Belgium. There were three men who would keep him there before he would be on another plane to the ones who paid me" he said and Akihito gave a hum.

"Any idea where that plane went?" he asked, though he didn't sound too hopeful. Genji shook his head quickly.

"I don't. Please. I don't know anything more. I was paid to put a brat on a plane, not to know things" he said and Asami almost felt sorry for the man. But he couldn't exactly blame Akihito either. Although his way of getting his information seemed a lot like his own. It wasn't a comfortable thought, which begged Asami to ask the question, since when was Akihito okay with doing this like this? Had he always been okay with it, or had it been in the period he had disappeared, or maybe only since their relationship had started.

Asami wanted answers, and he wanted them yesterday. And he would get them, right after he had worked off a little bit of the deprivation that pleaded him to take his lover up against the wall. He wouldn't even need a surface, standing up was okay as well. As long as he could hold his lover in his arms again.

"I guess that we're finished here then" the blonde announced, causing Genji to breathe a sigh of relief.

"You owe me a fight" the young raven said as he turned away and the white-haired man held up his fist.

"Then I'll fight the winner" he said, as if the entire interrogation hadn't happened before. The smile on the blonde's face made it seem as it had all been a play of Asami's head. They had been serious when they said they'd forget all about it.

"I can take both of you on at the same time, so why wait?" Akihito asked as he walked to the door, his eyes connecting with the crime-lord's in a silent suggestion to follow if he wanted answers. Asami didn't hesitate to step outside the room after the trio.

"Kyoya, I'll get you the records of every plane and private jet that left for Belgium in the past two weeks. Sort them through and send the suspicious ones to Ryohei" Akihito said, his tone strangely authoritative, enough to make the young raven who didn't seem like the type to follow orders, nod as he accepted them.

"Ryohei, I'm sending you to Belgium to track down those three Genji spoke of. One of my men will be there to wait for you and he'll tell you their description" the blonde said as he looked at the white-haired man, who held up his fist once again.

"Leave it to me. I'll have them tracked down and talking extremely fast!" he said proudly and Akihito gave a nod.

"Then, I will return back to Namimori and wait for the records" the young raven said once they were outside, not even waiting for Akihito's approval before he turned to walk away.

"Oi, Kyoya! Wait! I'm coming with you!" the white-haired young man said as he caught up with the young raven, finally leaving Asami alone with his lover.

"Since when do you have men?" was the first question out of Asami's mouth as he followed Akihito as he walked away from the club towards where he knew was a small parking lot.

"Since forever, I think? Most of them died, but few of them are still alive. A couple new faces joined during my career and continued working for me" Akihito said and though it sounded like a joke, Asami doubted that it was.

"I suspect you are talking about a different career than criminal photographer" Asami said as he saw the lights of a foreign car flicker up when Akihito took a key out of his pocket.

"Try thinking along the lines of mafioso" the blonde said as he turned around to lean against the black Lancia Thesis with tinted windows. He put one hand in his pocket as the corners of his lips curled up in a half-smile, looking relaxed and comfortable as he regarded his lover. Asami barely had any ears for what the blonde was saying, too distracted by his own need to hold his lover.

"Are you scared now?" Akihito asked with a raised eyebrow as his free hand reached up to softly pull the raven's tie from below his blazer, giving it a tug to force the crime-lord closer. In the back of his mind, Asami realised he was being played. But the temptation of the blonde right in front of him, licking his lips with a hungry look as if he was a starving wolf, was too much for him to resist. He was only a man, weak to the seduction of the person who held his heart.

And who held the keys to the car that would allow them to use the backseat as a make-shift bed during their desperation to connect in the way only animals could. All teeth, nails and carnal desire. The backseat was cramped for the activity the two of them were participating in, but Asami couldn't care less about space since it wasn't necessary when his lover was wrapped around him, panting in his ear and singing him an entrancing song with his moans.

An explanation could wait until later, when he was thinking with his head instead of his cock, buried six inches inside his lover. There was hardly anything he would notice right now, except for the sensations of their joining and the way Akihito's nails scratched down his back. He did not register the warm metal of a ring against his skin until after they had finished and regained their breath. Since when were rings warmer than body-temperature?

"So, mafia, huh?" Asami said as he attempted to straighten his shirt, something Akihito was having more success in than him. Maybe he had more experience fucking in a backseat, Asami couldn't tell. He was curious, but that was not the most important thing right now.

"Yeah. Born and raised, to be honest" Akihito admitted before running a hand through his hair in a futile attempt to tame the mess Asami had caused. He wasn't as successful in that.

"First, I got a few more things to take care of" he said before he reached for the door to step outside.

"We're done now, Mukuro. What did you need?" Akihito asked as he held out his arm, a large white owl with odd eyes landing on his forearm. Asami felt like he was going to pass out when he heard the owl speak. A flame that didn't burn and didn't need anything to light it, Akihito that was a mafioso and now a talking owl that had the decency to wait until they stopped fucking like rabbits in the backseat of a car in the middle of Tokyo. If he ordered his thoughts like that, Asami couldn't help but suspect it to be a dream. One induced by alcohol.

But at least he had gotten laid, so dream or not, he was satisfied for now. He was going to need an explanation, though.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	9. Storytime

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and the OCs!

I hope you like it!

* * *

This was going to be harder than he expected, Akihito realized as he looked at the raven across from him, sitting at the dining-room table with a whiskey glass in front of him. The same one Akihito had in front of him, which was empty. Sucking in a breath, the blonde reached for the bottle in the middle of the table. Thank god Asami had good taste in alcohol.

"If you continue drinking like that, you'll get drunk, lightweight" Asami said, his voice mixed with something fond, yet something cold. It was a strange combination, but one that made sense to Akihito. After all, the crime-lord was waiting for an explanation, one that Akihito had trouble giving. The blonde closed the bottle again before putting it in the middle of the table again.

"I'm no lightweight, Asami. I just acted like I was" he said and tilted his head shortly with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not exactly a heavyweight either, but I can take more than this" he admitted and leaned back with a deep sigh.

"This is not easy, Asami. There is a reason I never spoke of this" he said, though it didn't need to be said. Surely, Asami knew there was a reason, but he wanted to know the reason. Akihito wasn't sure he wanted to give that reason.

"I guess I'll start with an introduction. I'll go from there" the blonde said as he stared at the ceiling, his arms limp next to him. Asami remained silent as Akihito gathered his courage. His backstory had always been something he had kept close to himself. He was less than proud about it and the rumours about him didn't help either. To now admit it all to the person he loved, risking losing him, was harder than he had anticipated.

He wouldn't lose Asami because he was a mafioso or because of what he had done in the past, but because he had been dishonest and had been living a lie together with the raven. Worst was, Akihito would understand if Asami never wanted to see him after this. He would accept it as well. But before that, he needed to do his story.

"My name is Falconeria Akihito. I was born and raised in Italy. My mother was Japanese while my father was Italian, both of them were in the mafia. My mother was a CEDEF agent while my father was an assassin in the Vongola main family. I grew up in the mafia together with two other mafioso kids and I lived in a simple townhouse, decorated by lots of colourful flowers my mother loved to keep" Akihito said and closed his eyes, as if to lock every memory out that his story brought up.

"When I was thirteen, my father and my mother went on a job. I was used to them being gone for long and leaving me home alone. I was used to it and I wasn't exactly alone. Next to us lived an old couple that we helped by cooking for them, so I was often with them when I felt lonely. But I was a mafia-child. I was already being trained and there was little I was scared of when being home alone. But when that package turned up" he said, his voice stuck in his throat in anger as his fists clenched, his brow furrowing. Just the mere sight of that cart-board box on the balcony of their house was enough to make him want to burn something down.

"That evening, I had gone out to mama's with two of my friends, so I was home late and a bit tipsy. It was the middle of the summer, so it was incredibly hot. I opened all the windows to circulate the cool air into the house, when I found the box standing in the middle of our balcony, in between the flowers my mother loved. I will never forget anything about it" Akihito said, his eyes opening as his nails dug into his skin, drawing blood.

"The stench of rotting flesh, the blood soaked through the box I had to clean up on my knees with a dirty rag and chemicals that burned at my skin, the lifeless eyes that stared up at me from disembodied heads as I opened the box to look at the contents. Every detached limb they had to puzzle together to cremate them" Akihito said and glared at the ceiling as if that was to blame for the entire thing.

" _My mother, my father. Killed, humiliated, mocked, dishonoured. Not even brought to my door, but to my balcony, as if to proof that they were no longer able to protect that which they wanted to protect most"_ the blonde said, feeling his flames trash underneath his skin, heating it up. Asami cleared his throat, regaining the blonde's attention. Akihito's eyes shot over to him, seeing him tense under the murderous look in hazel eyes. Akihito averted his eyes and reached out for his glass to empty it in one go. He wasn't going to apologize for letting it get to him. Asami was the one who had demanded to hear everything. He was only getting what he wanted.

"I buried my parents way before their time, but that was just how things went in the mafia. All of us know we would one day die a death lower than that of a stray dog. But my parents' death was not something I could forgive. Not their death, nor their humiliation after it. So, I got revenge" Akihito said and looked at the empty glass in between his fingers.

"That same year, I infiltrated the famiglia that slaughtered my parents like cattle and ended them. I worked my way inside by seducing a few of them and proceeded to slaughter them no different than they had killed my parents" Akihito said and felt detached as he continued.

"They were cocky. Still celebrating how they had killed my parents, whose names were well-known in our world. They took me upon their lap, as if I was a trophy given to them for what they had achieved. It was a party indeed, but not one for them" he said darkly and his eyelids lowered slightly as he recalled the carnage that had been the party.

"I beat them up and I shot them. I slaughtered them like pigs and I burned them. It was already over when the Varia found me, sitting at the head-table, enjoying their last bottle of good wine, as if there was no carnage around me with burned and mutilated bodies around me and blood covering me as if I had bathed in it" he said and inhaled deeply.

"Yet even as I lit the fire and watched the mansion burn down to ashes, I wasn't satisfied. I didn't feel accomplished like I thought I would feel after avenging my parents. I felt empty, left with a bitter taste in my mouth. One of ashes, blood, bile and smoke. It brought me no satisfaction, yet I don't regret doing it" he said and stopped twisting the glass in between his fingers, stilling it.

"That slaughter earned me the name _Honey viper_ , the assassin that snuck into the enemy's strong-hold and curled around his unsuspecting target, waiting to strike until they had let their guard down" Akihito said and scoffed humourless.

"As if sitting on their laps and feeling their hands on me, trying to feel me up with the same limbs that had killed my parents, wasn't the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life" he said bitterly, almost as if he was mocking himself. He shook his head before looking back up at the raven, who looked slightly paler than before, but a mask remaining in place, carefully hiding hat he felt. For that, Akihito was glad. At least he wouldn't have to deal what was below that mask yet.

"Three to four years passed and I made a big name for myself. I went on jobs like my parents before me did and lived the life of a mafioso. I drank myself to sleep every night and fucked women like I wouldn't be seeing the sunrise again" the blonde said and reached out for the whiskey again, wanting to wash down the bitter taste in his mouth his story left behind.

"But all of a sudden, people high up top were expecting things from me. My uncle named me his successor as head of CEDEF while Nono chose me as Varia's cloud guardian. The expectations and the pressure got to me and I ran. I moved to Namimori first, lived there with my uncle's wife for a few years because I knew he wouldn't go looking for me there. When I turned twenty, I moved out to Tokyo, got a job as free-lance photographer and the rest is history" Akihito said and pulled one shoulder up in a half-shrug.

"At least until Xanxus showed up with his rag-tag bunch to inform me that my cousin had been kidnapped" he said and looked up at the crime-lord.

"Questions?" he asked and Asami raised a cigarette to his lips to light it before holding the package out to Akihito.

"Lots of them" the raven said as he watched Akihito light the end of his cigarette with the purple flame sprouting from his ring.

"But that answered one of them" he pointed out and Akihito exhaled the smoke from his lungs through the split of his lips around his cigarette.

"Yes, I'm a flame-user. There are seven of them. Rain, sun, storm, lightning, cloud, mist and sky. Every flame has its own property. Rain is tranquillity, it dulls everything it envelops. Sun is activation, it strengthens and heals. Storm is disintegration, self-explanatory, really. Lightning is hardening, solidifying and protecting. Cloud is propagation, multiplying and expanding. Mist is construction, meaning illusions" Akihito explained and leaned back in his seat once more.

"The sky is at the top of them all, the boss. The property of the sky is harmony. It assimilates with its surroundings and petrifies. It's a rare flame and there are three types of them, though one is a combination of storm and sky, the flame of wrath. I'm a cloud" Akihito said and Asami narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure it is okay for you to tell me this?" he asked and Akihito shrugged.

"Don't speak as if you weren't going to try and found out everything about this on your own. Besides, if I wished so, I could kill you before you could even blink" the blonde said before bringing the cigarette to his lips to take a drag.

"Why didn't I know about these flame-users before?" Asami asked and Akihito looked at him.

"Oh, I'm sure you've heard rumours before. The restaurant that was demolished in Chinatown? Yeah, that was done by a flame-user and I was there" he said and Asami remained silent as he let the information sink in.

"You said your cousin was kidnapped. Was that the reason you moved away from Italy?" he asked and Akihito shook his head.

"No, I moved away long before that. As if I would ever allow my cousin to be held hostage for that long" he said and Asami regarded him.

"Is he kidnapped because your involvement with the mafia?" he asked and Akihito laughed, startling the raven despite that he didn't show it.

"Hell no! My cousin is even more important than I am. He's the next Vongola boss. I'm working together with his guardians to get him back. He was only kidnapped when I told you I had to go MIA for a job, so technically, I didn't lie" he said and averted his eyes at the dry look in golden eyes.

"Anyway, we're on his trail. We almost got a location on him and then we can go and get him back" he said and Asami sipped from his glass.

"What will you do afterwards?" he asked and Akihito looked back up at the ceiling.

"Who knows. Nono, Reborn and Iemitsu are probably sitting together and conspiring about how to keep me in Italy to take over CEDEF because they know they don't have to worry about finding Tsuna when I'm on the case. I'll need to plan my eloping, decide where I want to go and hide" he said and tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Maybe I'll take Mikhail up on his offer to show me around Russia" he said and Asami frowned.

"Mikhail Arbatov? When did you meet him?" he asked and Akihito looked at him with a hum.

"During a meeting. The Arbatov Bratva is allied to the Vongola famiglia" he said and Asami's frown deepened.

"He's a flame-user as well?" he asked and Akihito shook his head.

"No, but there are crime-organizations of non-flame users that are allied to the famiglia as well. They're a bridge between the users and the non-users. They have the same influence and power of a small famiglia, but without the flames. You've been noticed as well" he said and Asami raised an eyebrow.

"To merge with this Vongola family?" he asked and the blonde shook his head.

"No, not merge. The Vongola famiglia doesn't merge with other famiglias. They either take them under their wing or suppress them entirely by disbanding them if they rose against them" Akihito said and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"In your case, it would be like with Mikhail. You have your business, but sometimes, the famiglia would ask you to ship something in or out. You'd get protection from other flame users that might target you, but you'd still be independent. Of course, it's possible that they'd call up on you if there is a meeting or if they believe you might have information they need" Akihito said and shrugged.

"Of course, this is entirely up to you, but Nono was planning on extending an invitation to you" he said and Asami narrowed his eyes.

"Why didn't he?" he asked and Akihito took another drag from his cigarette before crushing it into the ashtray in the middle of the table, exhaling the smoke through his nose.

"Because the entire shit-situation with the ring-battle began" he said and shrugged careless.

"Mah, I said it now, so consider the invitation formally on the table" he said and Asami raised an eyebrow at him.

"You have that kind of authority?" the raven asked and Akihito regarded him, not an ounce of amusement on his face.

"Yes, I do" he said and leaned back again, adding a mumbled "regrettably".

"I will consider the proposition, on one condition" Asami said and Akihito, completely in a professional role, made a gesture with his hand.

"Naturally. You may have even more than one condition. Mikhail had several of them and they were all granted" he said and Asami regarded him.

"Only one" he said and narrowed his eyes.

"You never again lie to me. Not even the smallest lie" he said and Akihito stared at him, his eyes widening. A silence fell as the words sank in.

"Of all the things you could ask, you name that your condition?" he asked and Asami remained silent.

"You could ask for flame-users to join your ranks under your command. You could ask for a hundred helicopters or several shipments of weapons together with an entire brothel of whores like Mikhail did. You could even ask for an underground headquarters to be built with technology ordinary crime-lord could only dream of. And yet the only thing you ask for is my honesty?" Akihito asked gobsmacked and Asami's expression never changed.

"I don't care for what they can give me. But I can't have you lying to me ever again, Akihito. Ever" Asami stressed with a harsh voice and Akihito blinked at him, letting another silence fall.

"Are you mad?!" he asked as he leaned forward in disbelieve. Asami narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

"Maybe I am, but it is all your fault. You're the one that made me so mad about you" he said and Akihito choked in the air he inhaled.

"What the hell are you-" he started but was unable to finish his sentence as he found Asami's lips crashed into his. Akihito could easily push him away if he wanted to, but he didn't. Instead, he did what he really wished to do, entwining his fingers through the raven's onyx locks to pull him closer, standing up from his chair to crawl his way over the table, straddling his lover's lap.

Hand settled upon his ass, eagerly kneading the sweatpants clad globes as their tongues tangled. With every grope, Akihito's hips were dragged forward, grinding into the raven's pelvis and feeling the heavy, thick rod that was situated there, growing harder with every roll of their hips. The cloud shivered in anticipation, placing his feet on the chair on each side of the crime-lord's bum, using the grip of his feet to gain a better friction as he hummed shamelessly into the sloppy kiss before he pulled away to rest his forehead against the raven's.

"If all you want if my honesty, you have it even without accepting the invitation" Akihito promised as he continued to roll his hips into the raven's, his breath shortening with every grind.

" _I swear this on my omerta"_ the blonde said felt the tremor move through the raven's spine as the Italian rolled seductively off his lips. Asami grabbed the blonde's hips, lifting him up from his lap to place him on the edge of the table, stepping in between his legs. Akihito wrapped his legs around the raven's thighs, drawing him in for another heated kiss which Asami broke away from first to look him in the eye, his pupils dilated with lust.

"Do you love me?" he asked and Akihito regarded him, wondering if the raven had always had this insecurity.

"Yes. If I didn't, you would have been dead the second you entrapped me in that leather and shoved those camera rolls up my ass" the blonde said and Asami's lips attached themselves to his again, his broader body pushing him down until his back rested on the table.

"I should apologize for that" Asami said in between kisses and Akihito huffed, feeling the raven move his shirt up his torso to rid him of it.

"You better" he said and pulled the shirt over his head, shifting one of his legs until it was hooked around the raven's waist, pulling his pelvis right into his own while arching his back.

"You can start with taking care of me like you're supposed to. I've been waiting too damned long" he said, proving that he was indeed a honey trap. One Asami was unable to resist.

"It's your own fault" Asami said against the blonde's neck as he mouthed at it, scraping his teeth across the skin that was tanner than he remembered, gained from the Italian sun. Akihito huffed as he tugged Asami's shirt over his head.

"Just shut up and fuck me, Ryuichi" Akihito said as he tossed the shirt away above his head. Asami was all too happy grant Akihito what he wanted, almost tearing off the sweatpants in his eagerness. Akihito sucked his fingers into his mouth, wetting them to reach into his underwear. Asami's eyes shot down at where Akihito's hand disappeared, his own hands moving to push down the only sweatpants he owned, thanking whoever invented the garment for making it so easy.

Akihito smirked at the crime-lord as the man watched the hand in the boxer-shorts move. The blonde's breathing hitched as he entered himself with a second digit, his eyes remaining on the raven even as his spine arched off the table. His hand didn't stop moving as he fingered himself while letting Asami take off his boxer-shorts. The sight was too much for Asami, who didn't hesitate to replace the blonde's fingers with something bigger, though it was a little too soon. But then again, Akihito had never really minded a bit of pain when it came to his lover.

Akihito didn't know how long they took, but he did know that he had no desire to move as he fought to regain his breath, laying boneless on the table with his eyes closed and Asami leaning against the table next to him, already lighting a cigarette. But the young mafioso knew he would need to move within the minute.

"Finally" a voice spoke up behind them and Asami startled while Akihito didn't, already having sensed the owner of the voice.

"Just how much do you two fuck?" the voice asked as Asami turned to look over his shoulder, his sweatpants still low on his lips, but at least it was covering himself.

"More than you will ever will, Mukuro" Akihito said before opening his eyes. He moved to sit up reaching out with his toe for his boxer-shorts that laid on the ground.

"Especially after Kyouya finds out you fucked Tsuna" the blonde said as he pulled on the garment, not even needing to look over his shoulder to know the purple-haired guardian was grimacing where he stood.

"I'm surprised you're not castrating me for sleeping with your cousin" the mist guardian said while Asami looked considerably uncomfortable as Akihito walked up to the pineapple-haired mafioso.

"Why would I do that when I know how good it feels to be fucked?" Akihito asked and stopped in front of the guardian.

"But I doubt you're here to play the voyeur, though I'm starting to doubt whether or not you have a kink like that, though I wouldn't mind" the blonde said and Mukuro shook with his head.

"I'm not here to watch you get fucked into the table. Interesting as it was, it is beside the objective I came here for. I came here to inform you that we found a possible location someone that saw Tsunayoshi last. We were send the information by the sun from Belgium" he said and Akihito looked at him.

"I'm guessing you stole a heli and went there already?" he asked and Mukuro nodded.

"We're almost there. Once we receive the information from him, we'll come back" he said and Akihito gave a nod.

"That's acceptable. I'll call the guardians together to inform them and we'll wait for your return" Akihito said and the purple-haired guardian gave a nod before going up into a thick, dark blue mist, appearing once more as the snow owl that took its leave though the gap of the open balcony door.

"I'm guessing that's what you meant with illusions when you talked about the mist flame" Asami said and Akihito looked at him.

"You'll get used to it" he said before stretching.

"Well, time to get back to work" he announced and grimaced as he looked down on his body. He'd go back to work, right after he took a shower.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	10. Flight

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the sotry and its OCs!

Also, I have never even come close to an airport in my humble life, so if I fucked up somewhere, please don't mind it and skim over it.

* * *

There was something happening and Akihito could feel it in his bones. Something wasn't right and whatever was going to happen, was going to be troublesome. Even more so than where he could see Gokudera and Yamamoto bickering to hide the sexual tension between them. To think they still hadn't resolved that. Or maybe they had, but it hadn't been enough. Lord knew that it had taken a while before he and Asami had resolved the tension that separation had caused.

It was the reason Asami was standing next to him as they waited to go through the security. Akihito had had no intention of taking Asami along, but the raven hadn't had any intention of staying behind. He had literally shown up at the airport with a ticket in hand, assigning him a seat right next to the blonde. Akihito hadn't had the time to refuse him since he had to deal with the guardians that were travelling with them.

Gokudera was too impatient, snapping at everyone giving him a stare that lasted longer than three seconds. Yamamoto was trying to calm him down, but he was quite tense himself, his eyes shifting in every direction and his answers a little too sharp. Hibari was even worse than the two of them. Akihito had had to stop him three times from taking out his tonfas and beating up an airport-worker. Even now, when he stood a little behind the blonde, the raven was shifting his weight from foot to foot impatiently, glaring at everything around him, unnerving even Kusakabe next to him, who had seen every one of the cloud's moods.

Akihito just thanked god that Ryohei and Mukuro weren't there, but waiting for them at location. He didn't even want to imagine what it would be like with that loud-mouth there to annoy Gokudera and don't even get him started on that antagonizing mist paired with the cloud looking for a violent fight that would spill blood. A lot of it.

With three people that could easily demolished the entire airport and turn it to dust, Akihito didn't have the leisure to deal with a stubborn lover.

Stepping up next to the X-ray band, Akihito pulled up the sleeve of his leather jacket, removing his watch to place it into the plastic box. He watched the box slide through the machine as he moved through the body scan, unsurprised as the thing went off. After all, it had gone off with Gokudera and Yamamoto before as well and it would go off with Hibari as well. If the raven didn't break the thing down.

"Sir, could you please step over here" the security worker requested as he pointed at the spot before him. Akihito easily moved to the appointed place, spreading his arms to allow the security man to move the metal detector across his body.

"I'm sorry, sir. I must have forgotten to remove my ring. I've been wearing it for so long that I forgot it was there" Akihito said, showing his ring before the man could move to his back, especially his lower back where his gun was holstered. The man's eyes widened in recognition, as Akihito had expected them to do. He had chosen this gate for a reason.

"To think my partner reminded me to double check. I can be so forgetful" Akihito said and like with Gokudera and Yamamoto before, the man lowered the wand.

"No, it's okay. Please don't forget next time" he said and mentioned for Asami to pass through, ignoring the ringing of the machine as the couple took their belongings from the plastic box.

"Since when is entering the airport with guns so easy?" Asami asked and Akihito wiggled his hand with the Varia ring on it.

"Since that guy has connections to a famiglia that opposed the Vongola and had the Varia up their ass. He knows these rings and knows what's good for" he said and didn't look back as he heard the alarm go off once more when Hibari stepped through it, followed by the machine that was destroyed. The security was too scared of the raven to approach, clearly knowing of the raven's reputation. That was also part of the reason they had chosen Namimori's airport. Akihito knew that if any destruction happened, one look at Hibari's face would deal with everything. Akihito hadn't needed a glass ball to foresee the future to know Hibari would be the cause of the destruction anyway.

But that wasn't the reason for Akihito's uneasy feeling. Instinct and experiences weren't allowing him to let his guard down, the twist in his gut too prominent to ignore. He might not have the super intuition Tsuna had, but his years of experience as an assassin were just as powerful. And right on the money, 9 out of 10 times. This was one of those times.

Akihito had grown suspicious of them as soon as they had sat down, but his suspicions were confirmed once they had travelled a quarter of the way and the men stood up. It wasn't hard to see the assault rifles that were taken from below their seats as they rose. Akihito guessed they must have had help from the inside to be able to smuggle those obnoxious things into the plane.

"EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND!" they started yelling as Asami next to him tensed. Akihito was almost amused. The one time the raven decides to take a regular plane instead of his private jet. However, amusement was hard to find when the passengers around them screamed in fright at the sight of the guns and scrambled to get to the ground. However, there were few that remained seated.

"Twelve of them. That's an awful lot for a plane hijacking with FN scars" Akihito said as he regarded the man screaming at the passengers in clear English that spoke of nativity.

"Seems like we might as well have taken the private jet considering they're desperate to stop us, even at the cost of civilian lives. Guess that's to be expected from a group without an omerta" the blonde said, his eyes finding the guardians. They were all held at gun-point, but looked unsurprised and unimpressed.

"The fuck are you mumbling about?!" the man aiming the assault rifle at him and his lover next to him demanded in a rough voice. Akihito looked up at him, seeing the small flash of blue fly past his shoulder. The blonde turned his attention back to the hijacker, raising a hand to brush his throat, drawing the man's attention to his lightly tanned skin.

"I'm sorry, sir. I had a party last night and my voice is gone hoarse. I can't speak any louder than this, I'm afraid" Akihito said soft, his voice purposely hoarse as he watched the man with the most fearful, apologetic look he could muster. Asami next to him frowned at the unexpected side of the blonde, who watched the man unconsciously bend forwards slightly to catch what he young man was saying. His eyes were glued to the fingers brushing the slim throat swallowing rather thickly.

"Speak up" the man ordered and Akihito flinched back in fear, brushing whatever power-trip the hjiacker's ego was on. He averted his eyes before looking up at the man through his lashes, shifting his thighs together nervously, drawing the man's attention.

"Please don't hurt me, sir. If you wish to hear what I said, you'll have to come closer. I really can't speak any louder" Akihito pleaded and saw the man lower his gun slightly to lean forward. A tongue darted out to lick his lips, his pupils dilated as he got aroused by the power the blonde's act gave him. Once he was close enough, Akihito reached out to brush the man's cheek, watching the man swallow thickly before his eyes widened.

"I said you're pretty damned stupid to go up against the Vongola, _you piece of shit"_ Akihito said cold as he felt warm fluid drip onto his hand and jeans. The man gagged and gurgled wetly as blood flooded his mouth and past his lips, startling Asami who instantly looked down to see a switchblade buried below the man's chin, all the way to the hilt. The blade was removed smoothly before the main artery was found with pin-point precision that seemed inhuman, yet was proven to be perfectly aimed as the skin was cut open with a flick of the wrist.

Akihito was remorseless as he pushed the bleeding body away from him with his fingers against the man's forehead. The thump of his body hitting the floor drew the attention of the other hjiackers, taking it away from the young mafioso they were keeping at gunpoint as they looked over at the blonde rising from his seat with a blood tainted hand loosely holding a switchblade.

"You fucking bastard!" one of the hijackers yelled as he aimed his rifle at the blonde. Akihito didn't pay him any attention as he turned to the one closest to him. The blonde didn't need to worry about the mob standing with his back towards Hibari, focussing on hitting the artery of the man closest to him before turning his body towards the mob left to him, letting it catch the bullets that were fired as he reached for his lower back as he heard the situation behind him move as well. His own shot wasn't the first one to ring out and while he was worried about Asami, he knew better than to need to inform the crime-lord to be careful.

The blonde mafioso moved around smoothly, his gun in one hand and his switchblade in the other. For all the hijacking had happened suddenly and with a lot of firepower, it was finished very quickly. The men had been split up evenly between the guardians, each taken three for their account and taking them out before Asami could even fire one shot. Akihito stood in between two bodies, looked disappointed at his shirt that was splattered with blood. Maybe he shouldn't have worn white.

"Looks like we received a kind welcome" Gokudera said as Akihito looked out of the window, half expecting an American fighter jet pull up next to them to shoot them out of the sky.

"Like we're being underestimated is more like it" Yamamoto noticed as well.

"They believed this would be enough to take us down. They're looking down on us because of our age" he pointed out and Kusakabe looked at them.

"That works to our advantage as well. At least now, we won't have to deal with fighter jets trying to blow us up" he said and Asami looked at the passengers that seemed to be in an extremely deep sleep, dead to whatever happened around them. Akihito watched his eyes find the blue-glowing swallow landing on Yamamoto's fingers. The blonde almost chuckled as he saw the moment Asami decided it would be smarted to not ask anything.

The sudden war-cry coming from behind them startled them, drawing their attention. Akihito had barely turned to look over his shoulder when two shots rang out, hitting the two males with silenced guns in the chest. He lowered his hand that had been positioned to throw the duo switchblades, looking over at Kusakabe and Asami who lowered their guns. Akihito was going to say something smart when the plane shook.

"These stupid bastards shot the pilots!" Gokudera realized as he found a hold on one of the seats.

"Anyone know how to fly a plane?" Yamamoto asked as he looked at the ground standing up.

"Helicopters only" Asami said and Kusakabe nodded.

"Helicopters as well" he admitted and Akihito turned around.

"You shits are so lucky to have me here. Gokudera, you're co-pilot!" he said and the silverette perked up, not even thinking of questioning the blonde as he followed him into the cockpit.

"Stupids idiots really killed the pilots. Guess they had nothing to lose and knew they were going to die" Akihito said as he dragged the pilot from his seat, ignoring the shot-wound in the man's had.

"With the way they screamed when they charged, what did they expect?" Gokudera questioned as he removed the co-pilot before following Akihito's example in taking their places.

"They were smart enough to use silencers. They could have at least wounded one of us before they were killed" the silverette added, likely to hide his nerves. Akihito glanced at him before turning his attention back to the controls, checking the screens and buttons.

"Take the wheel" Akihito said and the storm tensed, looked over as him before swallowing thickly and reaching for the joystick at his side.

"I'll land it, you keep it going straight. Just follow what I tell you to do" the blonde said as he moved the large head-phones on top of his head.

"You have experience flying and airbus?" Gokudera asked tensely and Akihito's eyes didn't move from the controls.

"When everyone in the Varia would sooner crash and kill everything around them, you learn to control everything. Be it airbuses or cruise-ships. Now, relax your shoulders. This will take a while and you being all tense won't help us at all. We've got over 200 passengers behind us" the blonde said and Gokudera grimaced.

"Because that's really helping me calm down" he said and but Akihito ignored him as he explained how to control the plane. They had more pressing matters to deal with than Gokudera's sarcasm. First, they needed to get the plane back in control and then Akihito needed to contact the airport where they would be landing to inform them of the situation and that they had taken over the plane.

If there was ever any time Akihito was glad for his position as CEDEF's next boss, it was when just mentioning his rank to the higher ups at the airport was enough to give them complete clearance. Last time he had to take over a plane during a mission with Varia, it had taken almost the entire flight to get the airport to co-operate and allow them a safe landing. Using his tittle, though annoying as fuck, certainly helped speed up the process and prevented him from sitting through whatever bullshit they felt necessary to subject him to.

So what if he wasn't hired by them? It didn't change the fact that he flew an aircraft better than any of their employees.

"Coffee?" a voice spoke up behind them, making Akihito and Gokudera look up. Asami held out two cups filled with the steaming liquid. The raven had taken off his blazer and had rolled up his sleeves. Akihito could see that he had washed his hands, yet it didn't hide the small spots of blood on the bottom of his shirt, proof that he had helped clean up the bodies.

"Please" the silverette said as he accepted the cup before the raven turned to the cloud, who grimaced but took the cup none the less.

"You know, I really believe this piss they call coffee is the reason planes crash" he said and Gokudera send him a glare.

"Could you not talk about planes crashing when we're flying one? You'll fucking jinx us" he said and Akihito scoffed.

"Please no. I don't want the last thing I drink before I die to be this broth that can't even be called coffee" he said and took a sip, resisting the urge to shudder at the taste. But it was better than nothing. Or he was just being picky and over-reacting. Italian espresso had fucked him up for any other coffee.

"What about the bodies?" the blonde asked and Asami placed his hand on the shoulder of his lover, his other reaching for the inside-pocket of his blazer, as if he wanted to take out his cigarettes to light one. Akihito could imagine the stress his lover was currently under. The older man may act like everything was fine and normal, but he would need more time to come to terms with the fact that Akihito was not who he initially thought he was. At least not his job.

It wasn't like Akihito had changed. At least not much. He still despised killing and hated the thought of getting anyone involved with his business. He disliked criminals and couldn't wait to get away from the mafia. It was all that, that made him a perfect mafioso in the eyes of those higher up. Because even though Akihito detested anything that had to do with mafia, he had no qualms with turning into a soldier without emotion when he had to protect that which was important to him. He had been raised like this and that hadn't changed even when he posed to be a freelance photographer.

But he could imagine it was a hard pill to swallow for his lover. It was one thing to hear it in the form of a story, but it was something else entirely to see the blonde kill three grown men with ease and no remorse, his clothes still stained with their blood. Asami had killed people before, so he wasn't allowed to say anything. But that didn't change the fact that Akihito had undoubtedly killed more than the raven had. It would take a while before Asami came to terms with it.

"We put them with the cargo" Asami said as he lowered his hand giving up on his search for some relief from his stress. Akihito reached up to squeeze his hand, his own still stained with dark red.

"Five more hours, and you'll be able to light one" he assured the raven and Asami gave a nod, his eyes shooting towards the hand on top of his. Akihito turned to Gokudera next to him, feeling his chest tighten.

"Hayato, you can handle this for a minute, right?" he asked and the silverette glanced at him before turning his attention shortly to the raven.

"Yeah, but don't take too long. I don't trust it yet" he admitted and Akihito gave a nod, reaching up to take off his headphones. He stood up from his chair, taking the raven's hand in his to pull him along to the area between the cockpit and the first-class cabin. It wouldn't be entirely private, but Akihito didn't plan on staying away from the cockpit for long. Gokudera being a smart kid and a quick learner didn't make flying a plane any easier.

"You okay?" Akihito asked, not really knowing how to start the conversation. How amusing it was. The most important thing for a honey trap was his ability to communicate at all times and turn the situation into their favour by sweet-talking and flattery. Yet with Asami in front of him, Akihito felt at loss. He was one of the most known male honey traps in the underworld in the past decade and a half, yet faced with his lover in a serious situation, all that skill went down the drain.

"Are you making fun of me?" Asami asked, his voice sharp and his eyes narrowed. Akihito hadn't meant to insult the insult the raven, but apparently, he had. The blonde huffed put off, guessing he must have tested the crime-lord's pride with his question.

"I'm not. I'm just worried this might be too much to take, and then I'm not talking about this hijacking. I'm talking about seeing me kill" the cloud said and Asami regarded him, his lips pressed together into a tight line.

"I'm not underestimating you or your ability to deal with shit like murder, Asami. I just know that there is a huge difference between hearing someone talk about killing and actually seeing them do it. The first time I saw my father kill someone, I hadn't been able to meet his eyes for an entire week despite that I knew about his job and the lives he took" Akihito said and deeply regretted that fact. The next time Akihito had met his father's eyes after that, it had been the last time and there had been no life left in the hazel eyes that had been so much like his own.

Akihito was jarred out of his thoughts in surprise as lips met his own, holding a hint of doubt underneath the desperation they moulded against his. Large hands cupped his cheeks, tilting up his head as the tip of a tongue trailed the seam of his lips, asking entrance which was granted easily. Akihito wrapped his arms around the raven's waist, keeping his grip loose as his tongue brushed against Asami's, their eyes remaining closed.

Though the blonde returned the kiss, he remained somewhat passive to allow his lover to pull away if he would want to. Judging by the fact that the kiss was dragging on and on, Asami didn't seem to have any intention of parting. There was nothing sexual about the kiss, the only passion driving it was the need for contact. To be connected and to feel the other close, as if nothing had changed between them. And maybe nothing had, maybe everything had. It was hard to tell. Just as hard as it was to tell how long it took for them to part, resting their foreheads together instead, their noses still brushing ever so slightly.

"I'll admit that I'll need some time to come to terms with your job, but it doesn't make me love you any less. You accepted me with all my sins and it would be hypocritical of me if I didn't" Asami said and Akihito looked at him, though it felt like he was looking cross-eyed.

"My sins might be greater than yours" he said, hoping in vain that the raven wouldn't have noticed the deep, somewhat shaky inhale his confession had caused.

"Nobody is a saint, Akihito. Be it a small sin or a large one, we're all sinners" Asami said and Akihito regarded his before closing his eyes with a soft snort.

"Since when do you talk about saint or sinners?" he asked and the raven raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't Italians religious?" he asked and Akihito chuckled.

"Now you're just stereotyping all Italians" he said and leaned up to press his a quick kiss to his lover's lips.

"I'm going back to the cockpit before Hayato gets us off course" he said and Asami hummed before leaning down for another kiss that lingered a little longer, his arms wrapping around the blonde's shoulders to pull him closer. His grip tightened for a second before he released the blonde to let him go completely.

"Don't crash us" he warned and Akihito rolled with his eyes. as they stepped away from each other, Akihito turned to Yamamoto whose presence he had barely felt. The young rain guardian was watching them, his hand dug into a small package of nuts, a couple of others in the crook of his arm. But what drew the attention most of all was the bright red slap-mark on his cheek, standing out like a sore thumb. Akihito raised an eyebrow at him, but Yamamto was looking mostly at the stone-faced raven.

"How do you kiss him without getting slapped?" he asked bluntly, confirming Akihito's suspicions on how the young rain had gotten his medal of attempt.

"Pin his hands down" Asami answered in a tone that wasn't as defensive as the first words they had exchanged as they walked back to the passenger cabin while Akihito returned to the cockpit, dreading the way Asami might influence he rain. He felt somewhat sorry for the bright-faced raven next to him as he sat down.

When they approached the airport, Akihito took over the controls with Gokudera paying close attention to his handlings. Ambulances stood already parked next to the landing stripe in order to take the passengers to the hospital for a check-up. No press was in sight, likely kept away by Mukuro and Ryohei, who stood next to the ambulances, waiting for them. Akihito wondered who Asami would be tempted to shoot first. Mukuro for his constant voyeurism, or Ryohei because of his over-use of the word extreme.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	11. Fight

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and the OCs!

Please enjoy!

* * *

"Brought the food" Ryohei said as he held up the two paper bags with grease dripping from the bottom with the in'n'out logo on the front. By now, the group had tried every fast food joint in the state they were in and Akihito had gotten addicted to cinnabon delights. But they had gotten taco bell the day before so now it was Ryohei's choice. Then again, I wasn't like they cared much about what they put in their mouths that day. Their attention was entirely on the map on the small table in the dining room of the shady apartment they had rented.

It was small, especially when they all lived in it. But it wasn't as if they would stay for long. Not anymore. Finding out the identities of their John Does after they had landed hadn't been too hard. Their hijackers hadn't been hired guns, but active members of one of the American mafia gangs. And as luck would have it, it was a gang that wasn't hiding their envy towards the Vongola, looking for its place as world's largest and strongest mafia family. They hadn't done anything to warrant the Vongola's wrath yet, but they certainly had incurred it with this action.

"Lady fortuna is on our side it seems" Akihito said before taking a rather large bite out of his double double.

"If she really was on our side, juudaime wouldn't have been kidnapped" Gokudera mumbled and Akihito shrugged.

"No, I'd say we're pretty lucky. Look at it this way. Because they kidnapped Tsuna, we have a legit reason to wipe them out. One threat less to worry about" he said and Mukuro nodded in agreement.

"Besides, I doubt they would hurt Tsunayoshi at this moment because of his value as bargain chip. However, there is a large possibility of them trying to hurt him, even kill him, when he becomes boss. The only way for them to take over the position of largest mafia family is to take out the boss. Tsunayoshi not being the boss yet is the only thing preventing them from hurting him" he added and Gokudera huffed.

"Then why can't I go to wipe them out? Why send the baseball idiot and the lawn-head?" the silverette said and Akihito looked at him.

"Because we will send through the information we get from the hide out, so you, Mukuro and Kyoya can go straight to Tsuna's location to get him back. If we split up, we can save time. Besides, we don't need all of us to take down the hide-out. Takeshi, Ryohei and I will be more than enough to deal with them" he said and pointed at the map.

"I doubt they would put all their men in one place. They won't underestimate Tsuna and station at least half of their man-power at his location, which we still need to find" he said and Gokudera huffed.

"We're still trying to find leads on it" he said and the blonde gave a nod.

"You'll continue doing so until his location is found. It doesn't matter which way is quicker, as long as he's found" he said and Kyoya crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"They will station only their own men at Tsunayoshi's location. I doubt they would involve other gangs that are allied to them but whose loyalty is dubious. They won't risk the possibility of an allied family taking Tsunayoshi for themselves and up-staging them" he said and they looked at him.

"So, we focus on finding the location where most of the main-gang's men are and we'll have possible location" Mukuro said and at the map.

"But I doubt they'd be in the same area as the hide-out. It would be too close. They expect an attack. Keeping Tsunayoshi closer to the location is a higher risk at us finding him when the main force is distracted with the fight. The more space there is between the location of the hide-out and Tsunayoshi's location, the more time they believe to have to re-locate Tsunayoshi. Distance means nothing when it comes to a text message or a phone call" he said and Yamamoto hummed.

"Then we'll have to jam the signal around their headquarters first, locking them down in one way and cutting them off from Tsuna's captors. We'll disadvantage ourselves by being unable to use the connection to track Tsuna down, but a like Mukuro said, a text message is faster than our tracker works. They'll be smart enough to dump their phones when they relocate" the rain guardian said and Kusakabe looked up from where he sat in the living-room sofa behind a computer.

"We'll jam the signals from the helicopters. The largest range we can get is one mile" the former delinquent said and Akihito gave a nod.

"We'll clean up within that period" he said and caught the look on Asami's face, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with kids a little more than a decade younger than him holding a war-council with more efficiency than an army. However, he had been the one to suggest to pilot the second helicopter that would take them to the hide-out, leaving the other helicopter for the other guardians which would be piloted by Kusakabe. They would provide them with support from the air, though Akihito doubted it would be necessary. They were going in with five guardians dead-set on having their sky returned and an assassin wanting his cousin back.

"There it is" Akihito said as he stood up in the back of the helicopter, looking out of the window at the abandoned factory the American mafia gang used as headquarters. The building was large and secluded, perfect for the three flame-users to go crazy without worrying about the collateral damage they might cause. They would just have to burn it down entirely and blame it on a terrorist group testing a bomb or a rocket.

"Shall we go then?" Yamamoto said with a smile that was ill-fitted with the situation, though infecting Ryohei. The sun guardian punched his fist into his palm with an easy grin.

"Let's go kick some extreme ass" he agreed and Akihito pulled open the sliding door of the helicopter. Next to him, two bursts of different flames tingled his senses, yet he didn't feel threatened. Asami glanced back as the sudden brightness faded to reveal the two guardians in their cambio forma. Akihito saw the raven's eyes widen, forcing himself to turn his attention back to his control, but unable not to throw a second glance over his shoulder in shock, not that Akihito couldn't understand. Cambio forma was imposing, especially with the Vongola gear version X.

Wearing only his pants, Ryohei's chest was bared. His legs were wrapped with a gold armour, the same armour which was found on the gauntlet running up his arm, all the way up to cover his shoulder. A wheel was placed on the place where his bangle had been wrapped around his bicep underneath his suit. The white boxing gloves were cuffed with gold wraps that would ensure they would stay on no matter what. The only protection he had was the gold headgear. True to his nature as sun guardian, the way the sunlight was caught on his gear was blinding, reflecting everything back.

Contrary to Ryohei's flashy gear, Yamamoto's was more subdued. A dark blue hakama paired with a light grey/almost white gi, standing half-open to reveal the sarashi bindings wrapping his midriff, matching in colour with his hakama. Grey-blue gauntlets shimmered dull, compared to Ryohei's, but stood out against the dark blue wrappings running up his forearm underneath the gauntlets. On each hip was a katana tied, one pommel holding the head of a dog while the other was shaped like a swallow. Unlike Ryohei, who retained his regular shoes, Yamamoto's gear gave him armoured sandals.

Akihito tilted his head from left to right to crack his neck, seeing Asami's eyes shoot towards him in anticipation. The blonde smiled, guessing his lover's thoughts without even trying. He flicked his hand outwards ejecting his staff into his palm, closing his fingers around it. Twirling it around, he allowed it to expand to its regular size as wisps of purple flames licked the surface, smiling at the raven.

"Just keep it steady here, if possible" he said into the microphones of the headphones and Asami gave a nod. Akihito turned back to the two guardians watching the hide-out below them.

"Ryohei takes right, Takeshi takes left and I'll take the front" he suggested, getting two agreements. One in the form of a thumbs up and the other in a fist pump.

"What about the back?" Asami asked and Akihito reached into his pocket.

"You're right. I almost forget" he said before pressing the red button of the detonator in his hand, watching the back of the hide-out explode.

"That should do it" he said, ignoring the startled look on Asami's face. Akihito felt somewhat sorry for the shocks his lover was going through ever since finding out his identity. Unfortunately, it wasn't over yet.

"Well, that should have taken out about ten people. That's ten added to my count" the blonde said as he removed his headphones, not hearing anything but the helicopter even when Yamamoto and Ryohei's lips moved. He merely gave them a two fingered salute before giving Asami the shock of his life by letting himself fall backwards out of the helicopter. Spreading his arms out, Akihito let himself turn over in a somersault until his head was going straight down to the ground, noticing Yamamoto and Ryohei jumping out after him.

Seeing the two guardians direct their course with their flames, each towards one side of the building, the blonde mafioso moved his arms against his side, keeping his staff parallel to his body to gain speed. He should have worn goggles, or at least a thicker blazer since the wind tugging on his clothes was rather cold. He must have forgotten about that tiny fact since it had been some time since he had jumped from a helicopter. But at least he still knew what to do, infusing his staff with his flames to expand it until he felt the end hit the ground, slowing down his approach as he turned his feet first.

However, even despite slowing down and locking his knees to brace his landing a crater was formed in the ground around him as he sat crouched in the middle, holding his staff behind his back and his fingers on the ground before him to keep his balance. The heavy tremors that travelled through the ground below him, seeming as if it was an earthquake, told the blonde the two guardians had landed as well. They had purposely landed as hard as they could, to let the gang know they were there for them. Might as well, after the way they had made them run around.

For how much he hated killing, Akihito was very good in taking lives. He knew he was, but he was numb towards acknowledging it. He preferred a good fight over slaughter, but the American gang had asked for it themselves and Akihito would only deliver what they had coming for them. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. But it also didn't mean he felt guilty for crushing skulls and breaking bones with every swing of his staff. He was three hallways far when he took a small break, looking down on his blood-stained black suit, leaving him to guess about the state of his face.

"24, plus the ten from before, leaves sixty-six left to go" he counted out and looked up as he heard guns being fired. His eyes found the wisps of smoke where the bullets had crashed into his flames, burning up almost instantly.

"Good try" Akihito complimented before pushing off, bridging the distance in the blink of an eye as he brought his staff back. The mobs raised their guns, all pulling the trigger at the same time. Akihito wondered when they would notice bullets had no effect on him since they burned before they could even come close. With a burst of his flames, he expanded his staff, taking them off guard. One of the was too slow to jump out of the way, the burning end of the staff catching him in the eye and pushing it into the back of his skull as Akihito moved his hand up, forcing the mob's body to the ground as he turned around his staff like the first best pole dancer, catching another mob in the chin and knocking him out cold almost instantly.

Putting his foot back on the ground, he pulled his staff out of the eye-socket with a wet sound. He swung it over his head, hitting the third mob in the junction between his shoulders and neck before changing the trajectory of his swing, slamming his head into the ground with enough force to break his neck. Putting the end of his staff on the floor next to the mob's broken neck, he pushed off to dodge the knife that was swung at him. Without a single second of hesitation, the blonde picked up a gun from the floor and pulled the trigger while stepping over his head.

The body hit the floor with a heavy thud half a second after Akihito's feet soundlessly touched the floor. He walked over to the mob he had knocked out, who was coming to. Before he could make an attempt to get up, Akihito pushed him back down with his foot over the man's throat, aiming the borrowed gun at the man's head with a cold look in his eyes.

"38" he said detached before pulling the trigger. He looked up at the sound of more footsteps approaching, dropping the gun carelessly in favour of twirling around his staff in both hands before separating them, now holding one in both hands as he pushed off to meet the new group of mean head on. The men were getting stronger the deeper into the building he moved, hearing screams from all over the place, though it didn't really register in his mind. He was looking for someone higher ranked than a foot-soldier. Someone who had even the faintest clue about why they were dying. Someone who had more information about his cousin's whereabouts.

Or the boss.

"Where do you think you're going?" Akihito asked as he crouched on the window-sill, looking at the man attempting to cross the courtyard towards one of the cars standing parked next to the factory. The same cars Yamamoto had cut in two before entering the building, but in his fear, that didn't seem like something that the boss would seem to take notice until his nose was pressed against the cuts.

"You're a flame-user as well, right? Why run away when you're the one who wanted this?" Akihito asked and the man grimaced as he sucked in a breath.

"Shut up, you monster!" the man yelled and whipped out two guns, immediately firing as soon as he had aimed. Akihito pushed off through the window to dodge the lightning bullets.

"Inspired by Xanxus's guns, huh" he recognized as he landed on the ground outside. He jumped away to dodge the lighting bullets that were fired at him, going from left to right and back and forth. The guns might be modelled like the Varia boss's weapons, but they lacked in both power and damage. But even if it would kill him like one of Xanxus's shots would, it would still hurt like a bitch if he were to get hit. Besides, Akihito currently didn't have the patience to play around and chase the American mob-boss as he ran away while firing his bullets.

"Mia, cambio forma" Akihito said, feeling his boxed weapon separate from his ring as he threw his staff forward, watching the entire thing catch fire. Purple flames dances wildly, every spark that separated from the staff creating a new one. As staff after staff appeared, larger than the one Akihito fought with, the boss found himself skidding to a stop when four large staffs landed in a square around him, standing up straight as more and more followed until an entire jungle gym was erected around him, like an old fashioned monkey bar playground.

Akihito landed on top of the monkey bars, across from him landing something that could be mistaken as his twin brother or his clone, inclusively wearing the same clothes and sporting the same blood-splattered face as they looked down at the mob-boss trapped inside the construction. Balancing on the balls of his foot on one of the bars, Akihito removed his blazer and rolled up the sleeves of his dark green button up, watching his twin do the same and hearing the helicopter hover overhead.

"Let's go, Mia" Akihito said and saw his twin give him a feral grin. They shared a look before hoping back, off the bar they had been standing on, catching themselves on it with their hands instead, using their speed to swing into the jungle gym. Akihito's cambio forma fitted his personality and his style perfectly, the monkey bars giving him the perfect playground to push himself to his limits, needing every ounce of his agility and wits to manoeuvre through the small gasp without losing speed. His twin moved opposite of him, attacking the mob-boss with punches and kicks whenever he retreated to gain more speed. It was crazy, it was mental, but it fitted Akihito's style to a T.

While the American mob-boss put up a better fight than Akihito expected, the outcome didn't change. Greed could never win from someone trying to save a person held dear to him. As the mob-boss laid beaten on the ground, Akihito landed on the ground next to him, his twin standing behind the mob-boss, hauling him to his feet as Ryohei and Yamamoto approach, both looking bloody, their faces set in stone but their eyes speaking of boiling rage as they stepped up on each side of the blonde, ignoring the helicopter landing on the open space next to them, the motor turning off.

"Now, let's hear what you have to say. Where are you keeping Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Akihito asked as he pushed one hand in his pocket. The mob-boss spat at the ground in front of his feet, the phlegm almost entirely blood. It wasn't an answer that needed to be repeated. Akihito didn't even have to bother reacting to it as it was done before he could even move, the blade of the katana reflecting the sunlight even when it as coated with blood, the tip pressing threateningly against the hollow under the man's chin.

"Just answer the question and we'll make it quick. You'll die anyway, why drag it out" Yamamoto said, his voice far more serious than his earlier grin. Knowing the rain's words to be true, the mob-boss had nothing to lose anymore.

"You'll never see that brat back. My daughter is even madder than you are" he said, his voice filled with grim humour as Asami stepped up next to the group, giving the second Akihito a looked the blonde would decipher later.

"Besides, even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you" the mob-boss snapped and Asami stepped forward, ignoring the blade next to him as he reached into the man's pockets.

"You don't need to tell us, your phone will. Since you already mentioned the one holding their boss is your daughter, we only need to follow the signal to find their location" he said and the man scoffed.

"There's no signal. I tried often enough" he said and Asami didn't even spare him a glance.

"That was our intention. How careless of you not to notice. If the stress of making such a large crime-organization your enemy was too much for you, you wouldn't hold out three days in the position you wanted to take. You must have inherited your position through your father not too long ago. Your knowledge on criminal warfare is severely lacking" he said dryly while scanning through the phone he had taken.

"Found the contacts. I'll plug it into our computer and send it through to Kusakabe" Asami said and Akihito gave a hum.

"Then we're done here. Let's clean up and go home. I'm tired and I'm hungry" he said as he turned away towards the helicopter, watching Yamamoto mercilessly strike the mob-boss down. Asami held out a hanky to his lover to clean his bloody hands and face with as they walked back to the helicopter. The blonde's twin caught up with them, earning another thoughtful look from the raven. This time, it did gain a reaction.

"Put that thought out of your head before I smack it out" Akihito said as he felt his twin jump onto his back, making him stumble a step forward.

"She's not a person, but a weapon" Akihito said as he felt the person on his back shift into its natural form. That of a female squirrel monkey that perched itself onto his shoulder, the tip of her tail glowing with a purple flame. Asami's gaze lingered on her before he decided it as smarter not to question it.

"Could have been interesting" he said as he looked back in front of him.

"I doubt it" Akihito said and stepped back into the helicopter, followed by Yamamoto and Ryohei, both looking grim after what they had done. It wasn't surprising, but Akihito wasn't going to give them any comfort either. It was the life they lived. They knew that they could die the exact same way they had killed people just before. The men that had fallen by their hands knew it as well. That was all that counted. They hadn't killed any innocents, but people who had taken lives the same way they had their taken from them. But that knowledge didn't make them any less of killers and it certainly didn't clean their hands.

"I started tracking the signal and send it through to Kusakabe. It should appear on his system in a few seconds" Asami said from the front. That news was the only thing that brought somewhat comfort, yet it wouldn't be complete until they got news of Tsuna's return. It did prompt them into cleaning their hands and faces with a hanky that was wetter with some bottled water. It wouldn't do to appear before their sky, all bloodied from the battle they had fought. Luckily, their suits had survived the ordeal as they undid their cambio forma.

They would now go back to the small airbase they had left from, where they would wait for their boss's return. Only then, they would finally be able to return to their daily lives in Japan. Akihito already made a plan of stopping by Tsuna's place. He missed Nana's food and currently had a huge craving for it.

"You think she'll make her curry?" Yamamoto asked, confirming that he was having the same craving.

"No, she'll probably prepare an extreme feast to welcome us back from out school trip, or whatever excuse Iemitsu told her" Ryohei said and Akihito snorted.

"I don't care what she prepares. I'll gobble down even the burned residue in the pan gratefully" he said, receiving two agreeing grunts and one curious look. But he would explain it later, when they were on their way to Namimori.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	12. Luck

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and its OCs!

Tsuna POV!

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Luck was something Tsuna seemed to lack. A lot of it. He just didn't seem to be able to catch a break. Some of the beatings Reborn gave to him must have knocked out whatever miniscule portion of luck he had. There was no other way to explain the fact that the person he had rejected before was currently sharing a meal with him in the middle of god-knew-where.

"Is it to your taste?" she asked as she looked up at him expectantly, her brown eyes glistening with hope. Tsuna swallowed he small bite of mashed potato, regardless of the overflowing amount of pepper soiling the taste and the crack of a small ball of something he couldn't name. At least it was better than the tasteless, overcooked crap he had gotten upon arrival.

"It's not bad" he said, causing the young woman to perk up with a wide smile. It would have been a nice sight, if they hadn't been surrounded by men with guns, some of them sporting rings. If Tsuna had known the girl in front of him was the illegitimate daughter of the American mafia group that was after the Vongola's position, he would have gone about his rejection better. Rejecting someone's feelings was always a tricky thing. In fact, Tsuna preferred to defuse a bomb with Reborn holding a gun against his head.

The day he had rejected the raven before him, it had been a very bad day for him. There were a few small things, like a teacher that didn't like him that had yelled at him for no reason other than him giving a correct answer to a somewhat difficult question, somewhat compared to Reborn's tests. Because someone had bumped into him, he had spilled his lunch all over his shirt, but instead of cleaning it up, he had to hold Gokudera back from baiting the guy that had bumped into him.

Those were small things that usually didn't do anything to him. They were daily things he got used to over time as he grew up, nothing out of the ordinary. But what had been out of the ordinary had happened that morning. Reborn had taken him somewhere, a place Tsuna knew he had no choice but to go, even if he disliked those things. The people he had seen in that house, had been killed in cold blood. A young child, barely starting middle school, shot in the stomach twice before a third bullet had hit his heart. A mother who he had seen work two different jobs to take care of her family, had laid on the floor next to her son, reaching out to him as if more than half of her body hadn't been burned and her internal injuries were none-existent.

There had also been a young child. A baby girl of barely a year old in the bedroom next to the murder scene. Her head had been bashed in, her blood soaking almost the entire baby-futon, dying it in a dark-red colour. As he had crouched down next to the child, he had fingered the blood to have it stick to his finger before he had checked the child's body temperature, some warmth lingering on her skin. It had crushed Tsuna entirely and anger was the only thing that had gotten him through that day, forcing his breakfast down to please his mother, even if it almost came out as soon as he had stepped out of the dining-room.

Even before he had stepped out of the house, he had had a phone against his ear, calling Hibari's subordinate in the police to tell him he would take care of the case. He hadn't allowed any objection and had closed the call before the ex-delinquent could even talk back. It had been unsurprising that Hibari had learned about it and approached him at school. No words had been needed for them to agree on skipping the morning lectures in order to clean up the house and take care of the family's burial. The rest of the day, Tsuna had been off, his mind with the family that had been killed and questioning for what reason they had suffered such a fate.

It was when he had been able to go home and investigate, that he had been stopped in the hallway by the girl currently sitting in front of him. Somewhat on edge and incredibly impatient on top of feeling his anger boil underneath the surface, he had heard her out behind the school building. She had been nervous as hell and Tsuna had had to resist the urge to tell her to hurry up. He knew how much courage it took to confess to someone, even if he didn't have the time or patience for it. When she had finally stuttered out her confession, Tsuna had given her a clear answer. But when she had questioned the reason, he had glared at her and told her to mind her own business.

His anxiousness and anger was no excuse for him to take out his feelings on someone who had done nothing wrong. In fact, it was a very bad quality to have as a boss and Reborn would have hit him for it if he hadn't been so pleased about Tsuna taking charge to investigate a murder in his turf. He still felt bad for snapping at her like he did, but it didn't seem like she blamed him. Still, that didn't mean he didn't feel the need to apologize for his unsightly behaviour.

"Jessica, do you remember that time you were an exchange student at college?" he asked and the look she was sending the plate in front of her was answer enough.

"I do" she said and Tsuna lowered his fork, putting it down on the plate to cross his arms on the table.

"I wanted to apologize for that. I couldn't respond to your feelings, but that didn't warrant that kind of reaction from me" he said and she shook her head, her short bob bouncing with the movement.

"It's not your fault. I mean, we had barely spoken once or twice and I started to like you on my own. To have someone like that come up to you and confess to you must have been weird, right" she said and Tsuna regarded her.

"It was a bad timing and I wasn't in complete control of my actions. If I had been, I would have been able to let you down easily and I would have been able to calmly answer your question instead of snapping at you like I did. You didn't deserve such a treatment from me after gathering the courage to confess" he said and she looked up at him in curious confusion.

"Bad timing? Had something happened?" she asked and Tsuna sighed softly.

"You know who I am, right?" he asked, though it wasn't even a question. She hadn't known since the beginning, but she had clearly been aware even before he arrived at her location, wherever he was. He had a good guess considering the panda express he saw many of the men eat.

"That morning, I found a family killed in cold blood. A boy of 14, a girl of 1 and a mother working two jobs to take care of them after her husband was gone" he said, watching her eyes widened as her breathing caught in her throat. He wasn't going to give any details.

"I decided to take over the case before the police could investigate it. I took care of their burial and I found out who killed them. But that day you confessed to me, I could still feel the warmth leaving that child's skin. It was a very bad timing" he said and she looked at him with a worried frown.

"Did you find out who did it?" she asked and Tsuna looked up at her from where his eyes had lowered to stare unseeingly at his food.

"Your father" he said mercilessly before looking back down, hearing her gasp.

"The woman's husband used to work for him as a messenger. But one day, he was ambushed by your father in America and gunned down because he refused to kill a child. His wife had barely found out she was pregnant for a second time when his body had been brought back. A year later, your father sent a few men to her house because he was still ticked off at their husband for refusing him. He had the family killed and recorded for his own satisfaction" Tsuna said, his fists clenching as he remembered watching every second of that tape in respect for the mother's brave final minutes before destroying the tape and chasing a bullet through the men's heads.

He had to force a girl into silence, but after the men had held her captive for days to take turns raping her, sometimes at the same time, he doubted she would go to the police to tell on him. She was likely disappointed that she hadn't been the one to pull the trigger. It was unexpected when she had turned up on his doorstep a few days later. She currently worked for him as an informant, like Haru did. It was a path she had chosen for herself after finding out she no longer fitted in with her family after what had happened to her. Tsuna had made sure she was paid and had a decent apartment to live in together with a scholarship in college and therapy to get over her trauma. She was still learning from Haru, but it was her who informed him about someone following him.

He should have watched his back better when going out late instead of getting drunk and fucked by his mist.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know" the raven said, shaking Tsuna out of his thoughts.

"You couldn't have. You said it yourself, didn't you? You never wanted to get involved with your father. You've been forced into this as much as I have" the brunet said and she looked at him.

"I did help him" she said and Tsuna gave a nod.

"I'm aware. After you found out your father as aiming for me, you followed me yourself, didn't you? And during my trip here, you also hired some men instead of your father" he said and her eyes widened in surprise.

"How did you?" she started but cut herself off at Tsuna's half-smile as he leaned back in his iron chair.

"Intuition. Some of the men along the way were calmer with me. Others would rough me up while some of them would be so gently, as if I was made from porcelain. I can only imagine the way you threatened them to be able to get them to do that" he said, somewhat amused as she looked embarrassed, almost mortified as she lowered her head.

"I'm not usually like that. I just… he was going to hurt you" she said and Tsuna gave a hum.

"I know. I'm grateful for it" he said and looked up when the door of his cell opened.

"Jess. It's time" the rough looking man said and the raven frowned but said nothing. She rose from her chair and took Tsuna's hands in hers, squeezing them together firmly.

"I'm going shopping now. I'll cook us some lasagne for tonight" she said before turning around. Vongola's decimo watched her retreating back as she was escorted from his cell by two men, both holding a black iwi travor. Another dozen men holding the same riffle remained in his room, spread out evenly against the wall and looking everywhere but at him. They were tense, aware of what he could do even when they had taken his rings away. Well, they were currently in his hand along with a little note he glanced at.

 _Guardians will be here soon. Someone trustable at the airbase send me a message that he saw them leave._

It took everything Tsuna had not to let the grin take over his face, his flames reacting to the spike in his adrenaline, boiling underneath his skin and heating up his body with a pleasant hum. The pill awakening his flames that had been hidden in his mashed potatoes was already working, counteracting the flame-suppressants he had been injected with almost constantly. The only reason it was working this fast was likely because of his sky-flames. It took a lot to suppress them and it took little to unseal them.

There was a light tingle of a thin chain as he slipped the ring on his finger, starting with the large one on his middle finger, feeling the ring connect with his flames instantly. He closed his eyes as he felt the familiar hum of Natsu stir the flames inside of him, as comforting as it was wild. Now all he needed was to get out of the room and find his gloves. He would trust his intuition to lead him to him to his trusted mittens, but it was entirely up to him to get out of his cell. There was no time to lose when his guardians were this close. If they were working this hard, it would be shameful for their boss to sit on his ass and wait for them.

Tsuna's eyes remained closed as he moved his chair back. At the sound of the iron scraping the cemented floor, guns were raised at him, the men holding the weapons yelling at him. The brunet didn't even need to decode the chaos to know they ordered him to sit down again, their voices mingling even though they were all saying the same thing. Not that Tsuna had any intention of listening to them. He hoped the raven had already left the house. She had already gotten in enough trouble for mentioning washing his mittens together with the clothes he had arrived in the first day he had woken up in her company.

The young mafia boss waited to enter his hyper dying mode, grateful for Reborn's rigorous training in order to call it out without the dying will pills. Entering his hyper mode was rather hard on his hands if he wasn't wearing his gloves. Besides, he didn't need that mode to handle the men inside the room. The only flames he needed were those that formed a wall before, turning the bullets into ash upon contact with the thing layer of flames that was almost invisible.

Pushing off, Tsuna easily closed the distance between him and the armed mob standing closest to him. He jumped up, placing a hand on top of the man's head to wrap his legs around his neck, sitting on his shoulders so the man's face was pressed into his abs. Ignoring the bullets flying around him as much as his instincts allowed him to, he let himself fall back to place his hands on the ground. While he was smaller than the man he was mounting, the speed and force behind his movement, caused the man to topple forward off balance before getting thrown over the brunet's torso. His body landed with a heavy thud as Tsuna sat back on the man's heavy chest, reaching back mindlessly for the mob's pocket.

He hadn't even needed his intuition to know that the man was the type to carry around a knife in his pocket. Despite that he hated taking a life, Tsuna was painfully aware that he had no way of getting out of this situation without taking lives. But he also knew that if he killed some of them strategically in front of a group, the ones watching would realize he was not afraid of taking a life. It would make them weary and would create tension. The fear of seeing the small blade of the pocketknife dyed with the blood streaming from the large man's throat would make their surviving instincts kick in and would make it harder for them to fight back once Tsuna got under their guard.

Their anxiousness rose with every swipe of the brunet's blade as he moved, dancing almost gracefully through the row he had started with. By the time the fourth body fell, Tsuna noticed their hands trembling and their aim worsening, feeling it was the moment to switch from killing to injuring and knocking out. Looking down at the bodies on the floor around him, his breathing was slightly winded, his face and hands wet with the blood that also painted the shirt he had gotten as replacement of the clothes he had arrived with. He counted himself somewhat lucky that both the shirt and the drawstring trousers were dark of colour.

Picking up the key to his cell from one of the bodies, he unlocked the door, feeling the ground tremble underneath his bare feet. A smile curled up his lips as he sensed familiar flame sources, leaving no doubt to the reason of the tremors in the ground. As he moved through the hallways of the building, he recognized that it wasn't a house, but an abandoned army base, following his intuition to a small room where he found both his clothes and his mittens. He didn't bother with changing his clothes, only pulling on his shoes and his mittens before allowing the flame on his forehead to catch fire, instantly changing his mittens to his red gloves that looked more like flaming gauntlets.

It was time to go meet his guardians.

Gokudera was the one he met first, the storm guardian looking so relieved to see his face that he almost sank through his knees. He probably would have if he hadn't just fired a few sticks of dynamite towards the group shooting at him, the bullets impacting only with his sistema CIA. The two of them continued to make their way through the base to the front, where they met with Mukuro and Hibari.

Mist and cloud worked well together, quickly disposing of the enemies in front of them with an efficiency that was more than a little scary. But that was nothing compared to when they turned towards each other, finally having enough from the taunting that had been exchanged between them while they were taking out the armed force around them. Both Gokudera and Tsuna called for their attention as they saw the base crumbled with every attack that clashed. Hibari's tonfa chains crashed into walls while Mukuro's illusions were so realistic, the building was unable to keep up with the pressure of them.

Tsuna's eyebrow twitched as he raised his hand. He had learned a long time ago that the relationship between those two was not going to get any better. While they did respect one another, to a certain level, once they started butting heads, it turned into a fight that needed his hyper dying will mode to stop them, sometimes his X burner. It could almost be considered a miracle when those two remained silent in the helicopter on the way back to where the other guardians were waiting for them to arrive, including his cousin, hopefully. He was aware that the blonde had a tendency to run away, even if it was just for the heck of it, with no real reason.

"He will still be there" Hibari assured him, guessing what he was thinking about with just one look at his face. Tsuna turned to look up at him, meeting his gaze that was strangely fond.

"In the time we spend with him, he has had nothing in mind but finding you. I doubt he will run before he has confirmed for himself that you have returned" the cloud said and true to his words, as the helicopter landed, Tsuna had no trouble to recognize the blonde standing dressed rather casually, flanked by Yamamoto, Ryohei and a tall raven Tsuna didn't recognize.

As soon as Tsuna and his guardians had stepped out of the helicopter, the blonde started laughing. The guardians looked at him in confusion as he curled his arms around his stomach, almost falling to his knees. The raven behind him looked undisturbed as he lit up a cigarette, almost as if he was used to these sudden outbursts of laughter. Well, agreed, Akihito liked to laugh and did it often, but not without a reason. Though the cloud and the mist guardian looking at the opposite way was likely to be the reason, part of their suits ruined and some of their hairs fried from the X-burner they had barely dodged.

"What did they do this time?" he asked and Tsuna huffed.

"They were fighting and destroying the base I was held at. I didn't care if it was destroyed, but we were wasting time" he said and the blonde perked up.

"What, did he find out?" he asked, earning two dreading looks among the confused ones.

"Find out what?" Gokudera asked as Tsuna shook his head, pleading the blonde not to say anything. It didn't surprise him in the slightest that his cousin knew about his one-night stand with Mukuro. It wouldn't surprise him if Akihito was doing this out of his own enjoyment either, since he had that kind of humour.

"Nothing of importance" Mukuro said with a tense smile, his eyes closed as the blonde blinked at them.

"Oh, so they don't know yet? Then, forget I said anything" Akihito said and the attention turned their boss.

"Don't know what yet?" Yamamoto asked and Tsuna shook his head.

"Really, it's nothing important. Just a little something" he said, trying to pacify their curiosity but knowing just that wouldn't cut it. Akihito wasn't exactly a big help either.

"Oh? So it was little?" he asked as he looked at Mukuro, who's eyebrow twitched at the question that earned a raised eyebrow from the raven standing behind the older mafioso.

"It's not little" the mist guardian said, a little too quick and too defensive to answer, instantly earning confused looks as Tsuna felt his cheeks heat up. It certainly wasn't little.

"Maybe I can help with that" Yamamoto said with a smile, his eyes closed but the tilt of his lips just as threatening as his hand reached for shigure kintoki in the sash in his other hand. Time to reveal the hilt of his sword he didn't have as a burst of purple flames almost exploding next to him.

"I'll kill you" Hibari said coldly, deceptively calm as his cambio forma came out without him even having to do anything, responding to his anger. Mukuro gulped softly as his fingers closed around the staff of his khakkhara, barely on time to hold back the tonfa swinging for his throat.

"Wait! Kyoya! Let me explain!" Tsuna called after them, his voice falling on deaf ears as they moved further and further away.

"Maybe you should kiss him. I'm sure Kyoya would stop with fighting and it takes less energy than the X-burner" Akihito said and the brunet looked over his shoulder with a suffering look.

"Aki" he whined seeing the amusement in hazel eyes that the blonde wasn't even trying to hide.

"Just make sure to use enough lube. I'm sure I got some to spare, but if you'd rather not ask me, Yamamoto and Gokudera should have some too" he said, prompting Gokudera's face to match his button-up.

"Ask them. We're going to use everything we have" the raven behind the blonde spoke up for the first time and Akihito looked up over his shoulder.

"I've got the cloud flame. I can easily create a few gallons of lube if I have to" he said, piquing the interest of both the ravens in their group.

"Do you think you can get me a gallon like that?" Yamamoto asked, his attention instantly averted from the explosions happening behind them. Though his statement caused some explosions to happen in their midst as well, caused by a red-faced, glaring Gokudera. Despite the craziness of the situation, the familiarity of it brought a smile to Tsuna's face. The chaos only confirmed that he had returned to his guardians.

"I'm serious, Tsuna. He's a good kid but bad with voicing his feelings. You'll have to meet him further than halfway" Akihito said as he swung his arm over the brunet's shoulders, his eyes directed at his fellow cloud fighting the mist with an anger that was pure jealousy.

"If that isn't spoken from experience" the raven behind them said and the blonde send him a sour look.

"Like you're any different. I was the one who said it first, you know" he said and Tsuna looked at them, seeing the fond look exchanged between them. It was a look that didn't even require his super intuition to decipher.

"Wait, what do you mean with 'voicing his feelings'?" Tsuna asked suddenly, confusion settling in as his cousin's words registered in his mind. His question earned him a look that made him feel like an idiot.

"You're so dense, Tsuna. Think about it for a bit. Why would Kyoya be this jealous? It certainly isn't because he wants Mukuro up his ass like you did" Akihito said, leaving him that to think about as he went to prepare for their return to Namimori. Tsuna looked back at his guardians fighting all over the place, Ryohei having joined in for the heck of it, deciding he should probably stop them before they destroyed the entire airbase. His eyes lingered on his cloud, mulling over his cousin's words before shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it. He was not that lucky.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	13. Roots

Disclaimer :: I don't own anything but the story and its OCs!

Final chapter!  
Thank you so so much for joining me in this journey!  
I hope you liked it and I hope you enjoy the final chapter :D

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Akihito hummed as his hand rested on the steering wheel, Asami next to him looking a bit pale in the face as he stared at the road before him. After a small vacation to Italy to visit his parent's grave, Akihito had made a pitstop at the Varia HQ to pick up his car, making sure it would be shipped over. It had been a while since he had driven the red huayra but it still sounded as good as ever, drawing more attention than a naked man walking the streets would.

When he had shown up with it at Shion, Kirishima had actually fainted when he saw Akihito step out. The poor man still hadn't gotten used to the fact that they had closed an alliance with the Vongola famiglia, let alone that Akihito was something like their superior. The bespectacled man had wanted a detailed explanation as to why Asami had disappeared to Italy all of a sudden after visiting an old friend, but Akihito had easily pushed that onto Asami. The blonde hadn't felt like doing the entire story a second time and a third time when Suoh joined in.

However, that was already behind them, though Kirishima still tended to think of Akihito as an unruly child instead of a hardened mafioso who was one of the best honey traps in the field. It was somewhat amusing to Akihito, though it got on his nerves whenever the bespectacled mob tried to hide some business from him, thinking he was too weak to hear the truth about the drugs Asami shipped in and out of the country. The raven tended to forget that one of the weapon-shipments Asami had been requested to be destroyed was one that had been send by the Vongola famiglia.

But, for tonight, Akihito and Asami had both promised to forget about their jobs and to enjoy Christmas like it should be enjoyed. Carefree, with a lot of food and even more alcohol. Nana and Iemitsu had invited them for a Christmas dinner with the family, and the guardians with the extension of it. Akihito new Mukuro wouldn't come, aware that if he came in Hibari's visual range, he would be attacked. The cloud still hadn't gotten over his jealousy, no matter how many times Tsuna assured him he had been drunk. Not that it changed the fact that he had slept with Mukuro.

Honestly, it had been amusing in the beginning, but now it was just annoying. How long were those two going to dance around each other anyway? Hibari was crazy about Tsuna and his cousin couldn't stop talking or thinking about his cloud every time they talked, which was quite a lot considering they had to work together to clean up the aftermath of the kidnapping. By now, Akihito felt like mushing their faces together to help them get it over with.

"Akihito. Speed limit" Asami warned him with his voice tight, almost as tight as his grip on the oh-shit-handle. Akihito didn't even need to glance down to know he was driving too fast.

"Relax. We're here anyway" he said as he shifted his gears down, slowing his car until he stood parked behind the slick black Audi he recognized as Hibari's. Asami looked relieved to get out of the car as Akihito looked at the house, seeing the lights on and hearing the chaos from inside.

"You got the wine and flowers?" Akihito asked as he pushed his door down before locking his car, looking over it to see his lover hold up a bouquet of flowers and a bottle straight from the Varia wine-cellar. Xanxus would be pissed about it, but at least Akihito was out of Italy to escape his wrath. Though somehow, he had the feeling he would prefer facing his old friend's wrath, compared to the chaos he was about to enter. In fact, he didn't even have to step through the door to enter it, a young raven slamming into him in a full-sprint, his laughter cut off abruptly because of the impact.

"You dumb cow! Look at where you're going!" Gokudera complained as Akihito steadied the ten-year old who looked up at him in confusion.

"I'm sorry, Takaba-san. I'll tell him to watch out properly next time" the silverette said, but was written over by the young lightning guardian squealing and jumping up to wrap his arms around Akihito's neck.

"Aki-chan! That stinking octopus is being mean to me! I didn't even do anything!" Lambo exclaimed a very blunt lie with the crumbs around his mouth.

"That idiot ate all the starters before Juudaime could eat even one of them" Gokudera said with a childishly pointed finger at the young guardian.

"Calm down, Hayato. Think of it this way. The more starters he eats, the less main-course he eats and he won't be able to eat any deserts at all. That's more for everyone else" the blonde said, his words shocking the young Bovino so badly the mushy haired raven gasped deeply, scandalized at the idea of being unable to eat desert.

"Lambo won't eat anything anymore! I promise! I can eat desert!" he assured them and Akihito placed him back on his own two feet, watching him rush inside the house to assure Nana he would be able to eat desert despite that the poor woman had no idea that he was talking about. Gokudera heaved a deep sigh before turning to the duo in front of him.

"If you wanted any starters, you've come too late" he warned and Akihito smiled as he held up a bottle of wine.

"As long as there is alcohol, I will be content" he said and clapped the storm on his shoulder before going inside, followed by his lover and the silverette. What greeted him in the living-room was a controlled chaos, Iemitsu and reborn were drinking in one corner of the room, having dragged Ryohei and Yamamoto with them. Kyoko and Haru were helping Nana with the snacks and keeping the glasses filled while I-pin and Tsuna attempted to get Lambo out of Fuuta's hair, Hibari watching from the corner of the room next to the Christmas tree.

"Akihito! You made it!" Iemitsu announced the honey trap's arrival loudly, turning the attention to the duo walking inside the room while Gokudera rushed to help his sky with handling their lightning.

"Of course. I wasn't missing a Christmas dinner prepared by Mama. Dino may be stupid enough to do so, but I'm not passing it up" Akihito said as he shook Iemitsu's hand with a light grin.

"Bianchi in the kitchen" Reborn warned and Akihito glanced wearily at the direction of the mentioned kitchen.

"I'm sure I can stomach it. Besides, if never failed to talk her out of feeding me" he said and Gokudera grimaced at him.

"You need to teach me that" he said and Akihito scoffed as he turned to the silverette, bushing a strand of his hair behind his ear, continuing the caress to the storm's nape. He tilted his head with an open, disarming smile as he shifted closer, earning a blush from the young guardian.

"You want me to teach you how to seduce your own sister" he asked and a hand fell over the silverette's eyes with a laugh that sounded carefree, but with a warning undertone.

"No such thing will be taught, Akihito-san" Yamamoto said as he pulled his lover against his chest and away from the blonde's hands. If the warning in his laugh hadn't been clear, the one in his words was too obvious, making the blonde smile at him as Gokudera tried to get the hand away from his eyes.

"You have a bad sense of humour, Akihito" Asami said dryly, contrary to the sharp look in his eyes as they met hazel ones.

"Is yours any better then?" he asked and Asami couldn't answer that. Akihito pulled up his shoulders.

"But you don't have to worry, Takeshi. I was planning on giving him a few pointers on how to please his partner in bed, but if you dislike it" he said and Yamamoto's hand removed itself from the silverette's eyes.

"Well, maybe a few pointers could always come in handy" he said, instantly receiving an elbow in the gut and a laugh from the adults around them. Seems like the storm was still unable to get over his embarrassment, much to the blonde's amusement.

"Oh, Aki-kun! You should have said something if you arrived" Nana said as she came from the kitchen with a tray in her hands at the same time Iemitsu had gone into the kitchen to put away the bottle of wine Asami had passed him. Their paths crossing in the door-opening was too good of a chance for the short-haired blonde to pass up on, grabbing his wife by the waist to gain her attention as he swooped down. With his free hand, he took the tray out of her hands as he tipped her back. When he put her back on her feet, he gave her a crooked smile with 'mistletoe' as her only explanation, earning a charmed blush from his wife and a gag from his son.

As the night progressed, food was devoured and alcohol was consumed, Iemitsu wasn't the only one to make use of the mistletoe tradition. Much to the surprise of the others, it wasn't Yamamoto but Gokudera to take the initiative when they passed underneath the branch, taking the raven's face in both hands to pull him down. The move was met with wolf whistles and cat calls from the two blondes who were getting tipsy, and ended with a shocked Yamamoto and a flustered Gokudera.

It had taken all but two second for Yamamoto to shake out of his shock, reaching for his boyfriend to ask for another one, just to make sure he hadn't been dreaming, only to be met with a 'go die, baseball idiot!' from the silverette who refused to look at him. Luckily for the rain guardian, both Nana and Akihito had been sly enough to snap a few pictures of the moment. After desert, the youngest were tucked in for the night, which was probably for the best since the alcohol kept flowing and the conversations turned a tad bit too spicy for child ears.

The spicy conversations weren't helped when Akihito passed under the mistletoe, grabbed by the back of his neck by his lover for a deep kiss, uncaring for their spectators. Half of the suffered from second hand embarrassment while the other half was cheering them on, unsure who would win the battle fought with their lips. Surprisingly, it was Akihito who won, giving his lover a smug look as he licked his lips when his lover gave up.

Tsuna's second hand embarrassment was sort-lived, however. Hibari didn't even need a mistletoe to take the brunet's lips, kissing him when the young boss had brought him a drink. Luckily, the cloud had been smart enough to take the glass from the brunet's hand and holding it to the side before pulling him closer to close the distance between them. When they parted, Tsuna stumbled, almost taking down the Christmas-tree they stood next to even when Hibari supported him.

When the brunet suspected himself to be drunk, the raven proceeded to prove him the opposite. By the time the brunet returned the kiss, the others except for Gokudera had lost interest, finding their game of poker more important while the silverette grumbled with a pout.

Akihito was seeing right through Iemitsu and Reborn's tactics, using a gamble to make him admit to taking over CEDEF. Even intoxicated, it was something so obvious. But no matter how good both of his opponents were, even drunk, Akihito could play them under the table. Not because he was that smart, but because he was that good at cheating. However, even cheating had its weaknesses.

"You want some water?" Tsuna asked as he held out a tall glass for the blonde to take as he had stepped out for some fresh air, the door behind them open as they sat on the porch. Akihito gratefully accepted the glass, taking a few draughts before putting it down next to him.

"I thought you'd be off to your room with Kyoya by now" Akihito said as he looked at the brunet that had taken a seat next to him. His words instantly caused a blush to spread to the sky's ears.

"W-why would we do that?" he asked the most stupid question on earth and Akihito leaned back on his hands.

"After that kiss from before, isn't that the obvious way to go? You're not a virgin anymore, remember" he said and Tsuna grimaced at the reminder of his night with Mukuro.

"I'm not trying to push you, Tsuna. But remember that in the life we live, we might not have tomorrow" Akihito said and Tsuna's grimace made way for a sober expression.

"I know" he said and Akihito hummed, having no doubt about that.

"Now that we're talking about it, I wanted to thank you" Tsuna said and Akihito looked at him.

"For what?" he asked in confusion and Tsuna's gaze remained on the garden in front of him.

"For coming out of hiding to come help find me. You had your life way from the mafia and me getting kidnapped dragged you back into it" he said and Akihito scoffed.

"Isn't that natural? You're family. I wouldn't be me if I just ignored something like that. I would have regretted it for my entire life" the blonde said and the brunet looked at him.

"But don't you regret it? I heard that Asami-san didn't know about your past before you were called back" he said and Akihito shrugged.

"That doesn't matter. You were in danger and I could help. If I hadn't gone, I doubt he would have found out any time soon, but he would have, eventually. It was just a little sooner than I had anticipated, but at least it was for a good reason" he said and smiled.

"Besides, he knows what it's like. He was a crime-lord before this and he still is. There are only a hand-full of people one can trust in this world and he has just gained another one. Before, he always had to worry about me and getting me in trouble because of his business while I had to worry about him not finding out about who I was and what I did. Now we can trust each other, which feels much better than before" he said and Tsuna smiled.

"I trust you as well. You're one of the most dependable people I will ever meet in my life" he said and Akihito scoffed.

"Of course I am" he said and Tsuna looked away, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his spread knees, entwining his fingers.

"You know, I'm still scared to become the boss. I've already accepted it and I know I'm already in too deep to get out of it, but I'm still scared" he said and Akihito looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm not afraid to die, but I'm afraid that I will lose my trust in people. I know I can trust my guardians, even Mukuro despite everything he says. But I'm afraid that I will lose trust in everyone but them. It'll cripple me" he said and Akihito looked away towards the garden in front of them. He could understand that, since he had been in the same position when he had been younger.

"You shouldn't think too much about it. That is what will cripple you. If you don't trust them, don't try to. If you have to force yourself to trust someone, it means they're not worthy of your trust" he said and Tsuna looked at him.

"You're going to get stabbed in the back. That's unavoidable. But you have something others don't. That intuition of yours. If it tells you not to trust someone, don't. It'll probably save your life" the blonde said and shrugged.

"Besides, even if you do trust someone that doesn't deserve it, you still have people around you that won't trust them. They'll distrust where you trust too much" he said and Tsuna smiled.

"True. And I got you who I can trust as well" he said and Akihito barked a laugh as he let his head fall back.

"Maybe I should take over CEDEF" he said and Tsuna chuckled. The blonde sat forward and lifted his hand to land on top of the brunet's head.

"I'll always be on your side, Tsuna. If you want to talk or if you need help of any kind at all, I'm only a phone-call away" he said and Tsuna smiled at him. However, Akihito would really need to watch what he said and how much he drank. Those two combinations never were good for him. It was only the next morning when he woke up after he had passed out in the living room with Iemitsu, that he noticed the paper resting on his stomach. There was a purple flame flickering at the top of the letter and his autograph on the bottom.

With a throbbing in his head, his eyes scanned the contents, dread settling in his stomach with each passing word. It seemed like Iemitsu and Reborn had heard Akihito joke about taking over CEDEF and had put it black on white before getting him drunk, convincing him to sign the paper with both his signature and his flame to make sure he wouldn't get out of it again. After that, Iemitsu had cracked a bottle to celebrate, which had caused them both to pass out. But that was a good thing. Maybe Iemitsu didn't remember about the contract at all and Akihito could get rid of it.

"I've already send a copy to Nono, so it's no use even if you try to burn it. Give it up" Reborn said, shaking Akihito out of his thoughts and making him groan. So this was what Tsuna meant with Reborn being Reborn. The little hitman was one sly motherfucker, so Akihito really should have seen this coming. He shouldn't have drunk this much and he shouldn't have drunk even more afterwards. At the very least, he should have made this decision completely lucid. Alas, there was no changing it now. His word stood black on white, signed in the way that bound him to the omerta. In short:

He was royally fucked.

And somehow, he doubted Asami would have stopped him, even if he hadn't retired to the guest-room earlier. But at least there was something good in this whole trap. Now, Tsuna would always have someone he could trust to advise him. Not to mention close by as well, since there was no-where in the contract that Akihito had to be present at the CEDEF HQ at all times. Akihito had no intention sitting in an office and taking over CEDEF wasn't going to change that. He could travel back and forth when he needed to, but he would still be himself. They certainly couldn't expect of him to sit on his ass the entire day.

And maybe, if he was lucky, they might get tired of him as boss and select a new victim and Akihito would be released of this contract.

It seemed like he hadn't been the only one tricked, hearing Tsuna storm down the stairs like an elephant, almost stumbling on his way down. As he burst into the living-room, he was wearing the exact same shirt Hibari had been wearing the evening before, earning a smirk from both Reborn and Akihito. Panic was written on his face as he held up a piece of paper with a flame on the top and a signature on the bottom, much like Akihito's. Though, with Tsuna, the flame was bright orange.

"What the hell is this?! Why is there a contract saying I'm inheriting the Vongola famiglia next year?!" Tsuna demanded and Reborn sipped his tea calmly.

"Because you'll run away if we don't do it like this" he said and Akihito held his throbbing head with a grim smile.

"Give it up, cousin. I was tricked as well" he said and Reborn scoffed.

"Because with you, running away has proven to have worked before, unlike with him" he said and part of Akihito took it as praise while Tsuna's shoulders sagged.

Well, at least they were both fucked, Tsuna literally and figuratively.

* * *

Thank you for reading this mess!


End file.
